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| Single-use medical nonwovens: overcoming the challenges of recycling Producers and users of single-use medical nonwovens face battles in overcoming challenges of recycling as they prepare for the introduction of new EU legislation aimed at addressing the problem of textile waste, according to "Single-use medical nonwovens: the pros and cons"—a 22-page report from the global business information company Textiles Intelligence. Single-use medical nonwovens are widely used in health care settings because they offer a number of benefits compared with reusable medical textiles. However, most single-use medical nonwovens are difficult to recycle at the ends of their useful lives because they are made using complex mixtures of materials—and existing recycling facilities are unable to work with such mixtures. The challenges of recycling single-use medical nonwovens are compounded by a stigma in health care settings associated with recycling such products, given concerns over hygiene and safety. Worryingly, if solutions to the challenges of recycling single-use medical nonwovens are not developed by 2030, these materials could be responsible for 1 million tons of plastic waste worldwide. But if this waste could be recycled and converted into new products, it could generate a value of more than Euro600 million (US$643 million). The issue of single-use medical nonwovens is expected to be a focus for regulators in Europe under forthcoming EU legislation resulting from the publication of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. Several textile waste management specialists are trialling initiatives in Europe which are aimed at overcoming the challenges of recycling single-use medical nonwovens. In the UK, for example, Thermal Compaction Group (TCG), based in Cardiff, UK, has launched an initiative in collaboration with the National Health Service (NHS) to convert single-use medical nonwoven waste into plastic bricks. Elsewhere in the UK, some textile waste management specialists are pursuing initiatives which aim to reintroduce reusable medical textiles as viable alternatives to single-use medical nonwovens in the health care market. For example, Revolution-ZERO, based in Alton, UK, is partnering with the NHS to install advanced laundry facilities at hospital sites in order to decontaminate used medical textiles in preparation for their reuse, thereby avoiding the production of single-use medical nonwoven waste at the sites. Also, Revolution-ZERO is supplying hospital sites with locally sourced operating theatre drapes, surgical gowns, reusable face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE). Despite these efforts, it is expected that a return to the wide scale use of reusable medical textiles is unlikely given the immense benefits of single-use medical nonwovens to health care providers. But for this expectation to come to fruition, it is critical that solutions to the challenges of recycling single-use medical nonwovens are developed. write your comments about the article :: © 2023 Exhibition News :: home page |