Cardiff-based Thermal Compaction Group (TCG) has been awarded £426,000 by Innovate UK to develop its medical waste recycling technology.
The grant will be used to build a prototype machine to handle contaminated and uncontaminated ward, bed and cubicle curtains made of single-use disposable polypropylene plastic.
The ‘Curtain Melt’ machine uses heat to turn the heavy curtains into manageable blocks that can be sold back in the UK plastic reprocessing supply chain.
This process can save the NHS on landfill fees, clinical incineration and transport costs.
Biological test indicators will be used to show the contaminated material is safe for both operators and their environments throughout the thermal process.
The technology has the potential to be rolled out worldwide if it is successfully trialed in the UK.
TCG’s Sterimelt technology is currently being used across the UK to create sterilised briquettes which can be sold on to produce garden furniture, fences, buckets, plant pots, ropes and chairs.
Thomas Davison-Sebry, TCG director, said: “We’ve had great success so far in recycling patient transfer sheets and wrapping for surgical instruments, now with this latest support we can prevent even more single-use NHS plastics from entering landfills or incineration.”
TCG was awarded the funding through the Innovate UK Open Call competition, with 70% of the funding coming from Innovate UK and the rest invested by TCG.
Fuente: RECYCLING WASTE WORLD