First 100 hospitals sign up to Recycling Program

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Sydney, Australia - 2017-10-27

Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd (Baxter) and the Vinyl Council of Australia (Vinyl Council) today announced a major milestone in the expansion of the PVC Recycling in Hospitals program with 100 hospitals now diverting about 10 metric tonnes of medical waste from landfill to recycling each month.

Launched in 2009, the innovative sustainability program brings together local hospitals with Baxter and the Vinyl Council to collect and recycle Baxter intravenous (IV) fluids bags, as well as PVC oxygen masks and oxygen tubing.
All PVC material collected as part of the PVC Recycling in Hospitals program is recycled locally in Australia and New Zealand to manufacture garden hoses (Australia) and outdoor safety matting for playgrounds (New Zealand).
Hospitals in Australia and New Zealand dispose of an estimated 50 million IV fluids bags a year, as well as significant quantities of PVC tubing and oxygen masks.

This non-hazardous/non-infectious material has traditionally gone to landfill at the end of the product’s life, at a cost to the local health system and the environment.

As part of the PVC Recycling in Hospitals program, a typical 300-bed hospital has the potential to divert about 2.5 tonnes of non-hazardous PVC medical waste from landfill to recycling each year – that’s enough to make about 17 kilometres of garden hose or 865 outdoor playground mats.

“Baxter is proud to partner with hospitals in Australia and New Zealand on this unique recycling program,” said Baxter ANZ General Manager Steven Flynn. “Reducing the amount of hospital waste that ends up in landfill reflects our shared commitment to a sustainable healthcare system. As a local manufacturer, we are continually responding to the changing needs of our customers with innovative products and services that improve the quality of life for patients and create social, economic and environmental value to our customers and the communities we live and work in.”

Vinyl Council of Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Sophi MacMillan, said: “Baxter is one of our founding members and a signatory to our PVC Stewardship Program. This stewardship program provides strategic direction for signatory companies to implement high standards in manufacturing, safe and sustainable use of chemicals, improved energy and greenhouse gas emissions and resource efficiency, including improving recycling.”

In January 2017, Baxter expanded the hospital recycling program to include the collection and recycling of aluminium canisters of Baxter gas anaesthesia. 

Aluminium collected as part of the program is reused and repurposed into new aluminium products with 50 recycled canisters of Baxter anaesthesia enough to make an aluminium bike frame.
More than 15 hospitals across Australia have already signed up to the aluminium recycling program.
For more information about the recycling in hospitals programs please visit:
http://recyclinginhospitals.com.au/

About Baxter

Baxter provides a broad portfolio of essential renal and hospital products, including home, acute and in-center dialysis; sterile IV solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition; surgery products and anesthetics; and pharmacy automation, software and services. The company’s global footprint and the critical nature of its products and services play a key role in expanding access to healthcare in emerging and developed countries. Baxter’s employees worldwide are building upon the company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the next generation of healthcare innovations that enable patient care.

About the Vinyl Council of Australia

The Vinyl Council is the peak industry body for the vinyl, or PVC, value chain in Australia. The Vinyl Council’s purpose is to enhance the industry’s opportunities for growth through sustainable development. The PVC Recycling in Hospitals program is part of the Vinyl Council’s PVC Stewardship Program. For more information contact 03 9510 1711 or email [email protected] Follow @VCAustralia