HPRC has learned a lot over the past few years: high quality plastics are available (primarily PP and HPDE) for reuse in the healthcare industry, there is passion among stakeholders to divert this material away from the landfills, and there is a need and an opportunity for economic value creation if we can scale-up efforts to captures these plastic resources. This presentation, from the 2016 ReFocus Conference, discusses the efforts underway to demonstrate economic viability, and shares insights gained from our work on the Chicago Regional pilot project. The question today is, "how do we scale up our efforts to really make a difference?" and this is exactly the question the Chicago project is working to answer.

1. The Opportunity with
Healthcare Plastic Resources

2. Over 5,000 US Hospitals
5.9 Million Tons of
Waste per Year
1.2 Million Tons of
Clean Plastics Available

3. Easy to identify products …

4. High quality materials …
PP PP, PET, PETG, PS
PP or PVC“Blue Wrap” PP
PP, PET, HDPE
Tyvek® (HDPE) with PP Tray

5. “One hospital doesn’t
generate enough
bales to make a
business…”
The dilemma …

6. Differing Priorities  Existing Contractual arrangements  Dynamic plastics Market
Varying models of Recycling
Current situation in waste management…

7. Chicago Demonstration Project
Testing for a solution …
Multi-hospital
plastics recycling
project in Chicago
Demonstrate a
viable business
model for recycling
healthcare plastics.
Target is to recycle
100 tons of plastics
over next 12 months

8. Chicago Demonstration Project
Participants from across the value chain …
Hospitals
Waste
Services,
Recyclers
End-Users
and Service
Providers
Project Sponsors:

9. Effectively extracting materials from
current processes
Immature infrastructure; demand pull
will be led by the entrepreneurs
Getting all stakeholders to raise their
hand!
Challenges that still need solution
What have we learned in scaling our efforts?

10. What have we learned in scaling our efforts?
Sorting creates
the real value
Longer-term
thinkers
needed
Recycler needs
to collaborate
with hospital to
set up recovery
systems
Hospital needs
to be motivated
to act

11. Next Steps!

12. Questions?