Unlocking the Potential of Hospital Plastics: A Smarter Path to Sustainability
Every year, hospitals generate enormous amounts of waste – much of it plastic. While essential for hygiene and sterility in healthcare, plastic waste often ends up being incinerated due to concerns about contamination. At Serres, we believe there’s a more innovative and more sustainable way forward.
Shifting Away From Incineration to Recycling
Hospital plastic waste presents a unique challenge. In Finland alone, healthcare units generate around 10,000 tons of plastic waste annually(1). Globally, the figure is projected to exceed 20 million tonnes in 2025(2). Much of this waste stems from single-use sterile packaging, hand sanitizer bottles, saline and nutrition containers, and medicine packaging.
Incineration has been the go-to method for managing this waste due to the potential risk of contamination. However, hospital plastics are extremely pure and strictly controlled, making them an ideal material for recycling purposes compared to, for instance, consumer plastic waste streams. At Serres, we see great potential in shifting from incineration to recycling, particularly for non-contaminated or low-risk waste.
Serres’ Role in the PlasticsCircularity Project
As part of our commitment to sustainability, Serres is actively involved in a project supported by Business Finland that focuses on investigating the recycling of hospital plastics. Our products, including the Serres Suction bags, are used in more than 80,000 procedures worldwide every day, making even small changes in recycling practices highly impactful on a global scale.
This project is tightly linked with the broader PlasticsCircularity initiative, coordinated by VTT, which supports the green transition in the plastics industry. Within this framework, we are working to deepen understanding around contamination risks, identify recycling bottlenecks, and gather reliable data to support better decision-making.
Research-Backed Solutions: What Works Best?
As part of the PlasticsCircularity project, a recent Master’s thesis by Masoud Ghaffari at LUT University examined the environmental impact of various hospital plastic waste treatment scenarios. By analyzing plastic waste from Helsinki University Hospital in Meilahti in 2023, the study compared mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and energy recovery.
The results were compelling: combining improved mechanical recycling with chemical recycling methods proved to be the most sustainable solution. Disinfecting low-risk waste, such as plastic gloves and other personal protective equipment, before recycling helped achieve a 51% recycling rate and reduced CO₂ emissions by 58% compared to the current practice, where low-risk plastic waste and rejects from mechanical recycling are incinerated.
This research supports our approach at Serres where we believe that smarter processes and system-wide collaboration make hospital plastics a valuable resource, that is more than just waste.
Building a Circular Ecosystem in Healthcare
Increasing plastic recycling in hospitals requires more than better materials – it demands coordinated systems and a collective effort. As our Product Marketing Manager, Jari Herranen, puts it:
“Increasing the recycling of plastic waste in hospitals requires innovations from the whole ecosystem. It is not just about better products but about designing effective systems that cross organizational boundaries. When the circular economy is at the heart of solutions, supported by clear guidance and training, we can build a smarter and more sustainable future together.”
At Serres, we are proud to lead by example and contribute to building that future.
This blog post draws on insights originally published by the SPIRIT program. You can read the full article on the SPIRIT website.
(1) PlasticsCircularity research project accelerates the circular | VTT News
