From providing life-saving fluids during surgery to giving children a new lease on life and allowing children to land safely on playgrounds, PVC IV bags from all 10 Southern Cross Hospitals in Aotearoa, New Zealand are now being recycled and repurposed.
Hospitals recycled around 4.25 tonnes of plastics in 2023, said Greg Nelson, head of environmental, social and governance at Southern Cross Healthcare.
“Every Southern Cross hospital has taken full advantage of the opportunity to recycle IV bags and reduce our environmental impact. “So it’s amazing that all this plastic that would otherwise have ended up in the landfill can now help keep children safe and, moreover, create new spaces in the operating room,” Nelson said.
Southern Cross Healthcare has partnered with Baxter Healthcare, its IV bag supplier, on this initiative. After use in surgery or other care settings, the PVC bags are collected and processed by Matta, an Auckland-based surface covering provider.
“Baxter covers the cost of recycling while our hospital staff ensure the bags are collected and properly stored for collection. We are delighted to be involved in this fantastic recycling initiative and reduce waste in our hospitals.”
Nelson said recycling IV bags is just one of Southern Cross Healthcare’s recycling initiatives as part of a larger organizational sustainability plan.
“As of May 2023, some Auckland Southern Cross Hospitals have also been recycling sterilization wrap. It is a waste product in large quantities throughout the healthcare system. At Southern Cross, the plastic is collected by recycling and waste solutions provider Green Gorilla before being sorted by Abilities Group and processed by Future Post into products primarily destined for agriculture, viticulture and other uses.”
Paul Clark, Marketing Manager, IV Solutions and Sustainability, Baxter Healthcare, said: “At Baxter Healthcare we recognize the vital role we play in protecting our planet and its resources.
That’s why we continue to work with our customers to reduce waste and promote sustainability across the healthcare system. Together with our customers, we can make a difference to the health of our planet and the health of our communities.
Since 2009, the company’s Plastic Recycling in Hospitals program has diverted thousands of tons of medical waste from landfills, Clark said.
At the Auckland Surgical Center alone, sterilization wrap recycling has resulted in a 20% waste reduction, and now the initiative is being expanded to other Auckland hospitals, Nelson said.
“Sustainability is a focus of Southern Cross Healthcare across all of our sites. Therefore, in addition to increasing the recycling of plastics, we are working on a number of other initiatives, including reducing energy consumption and allowing some single-use items to be reused. We all need to do our part to reduce our impact on the environment.”