The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) is pleased to welcome PureCycle Technologies, a publicly traded advanced recycling company, as its newest member. PureCycle uses a proprietary technology to separate contaminants, odors, and colors from polypropylene (designated as No. 5 plastic) waste and transform it into ultra-pure recycled plastic. PureCycle will work to support HPRC efforts by offering a solution for hard to recycle polypropylene materials commonly found in healthcare.
“We are very excited to welcome PureCycle as a member of HPRC,” said Peylina Chu, Director of HPRC. “They are at the forefront of recycling technology and will be a great addition to HPRC as we seek to increase recycling and achieve circularity of healthcare plastics.”
PureCycle’s mission is to tackle the plastic waste crisis by making No. 5 plastic recycling a common practice. Through their unique purification process, PureCycle can effectively recycle No. 5 plastic waste while maintaining the value and quality of the original material.
“PureCycle believes that collaboration and partnerships are key to success,” shared Ron Rau, Director of Procurement at PureCycle. “The plastic waste problem must be approached with different perspectives, but with the same goal in mind. We are excited to collaborate with the leaders in the healthcare and recycling industries to facilitate change.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen first-hand the impacts that medical plastic waste can have our environment,” said Tamsin Ettefagh, Chief Sustainability Officer, PureCycle. “No. 5 plastic is one of the most common materials found in healthcare yet is a challenge to recycle so it ends up flowing into our oceans, waterways, and buried in landfills. We are excited to be a part of HPRC so we can implement the PureCycle solution to the healthcare plastic waste problem. “
Learn more in this story by WFTV Orlando, featuring Rachel Dial of PureCycle.
PureCycle’s flagship facility in Ironton, Ohio is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The facility will have the capacity to produce approximately 105 million pounds of ultra-pure recycled plastic annually. The company’s second facility will be built in Augusta, Georgia and is expected to break ground in March 2022.
HPRC is currently engaged in multiple initiatives aimed at enabling recycling of healthcare plastics, including pilot studies using advanced recycling technologies to recycle mixed stream healthcare plastics, a study of reverse logistics processes for collecting, segregating, and preparing healthcare plastic waste for transport, and focused outreach and engagement with recyclers.
About HPRC
HPRC is a private technical coalition of industry peers across manufacturing, healthcare, and recycling industries seeking to improve the recyclability of plastic products within healthcare. More specifically, HPRC engages in pioneering projects designed to help boost plastics recycling efforts in clinical settings of hospitals. Founded in 2010, HPRC is made up of brand leading and globally recognized members including Amcor, Baxter, BD, Boston Scientific, DuPont, Eastman Chemical Company, Freepoint Ecosystems, Gore Medical, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Nelipak Healthcare Packaging, Paxxus, Plastic Ingenuity, Purecycle Technologies, Ravago Recycling Group, Remington Medical, Sartorius, Sonoco Healthcare, Sterimed, Stryker, ThermoFisher Scientific, and Westfall Technik. For more information, visit www.hprc.org and follow HPRC on LinkedIn.
About PureCycle Technologies
PureCycle Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of PureCycle Technologies, Inc., holds a global license to commercialize the only patented solvent-based purification recycling technology, developed by The Procter & Gamble Company for restoring waste polypropylene (PP) into ultra-pure recycled (UPR) resin. The proprietary process removes color, odor and other contaminants from recycled feedstock resulting in UPR plastic suitable for any PP market. To learn more, visit www.purecycle.com.