Testing the use of recycled plastic as material for the production of clinical waste bins

Transcription

1 Plastic ZERO - Public Private Cooperations for Avoiding Plastic as a Waste Testing the use of recycled plastic as material for the production of clinical waste bins City of Copenhagen City of Malmö City of Hamburg SIA Liepajas RAS Tampere Regional Solid Waste Management Ltd. I/S Amager Ressourcecenter Aalborg University LIFE10 ENV/DK/098 - with the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union 1

2 Table of contents 1 Background Purpose Test description Test results Producing the recycled material Producing the clinical waste bins from the recycled material Testing the quality of the clinical waste bins Test Test Test Testing the user acceptance of the clinical waste bins Environmental and market assessment Legislation Discussion and conclusion References Appendix Definition of clinical waste Test results from Danish Technological Institute of test Test results from Danish Technological Institute of test 2 and Action August 2014 Quality Assurance Done by Marianne Bigum, Line Geest Jakobsen, Tina Winberg, Greta Nedergaard July - August 2014 Quality assured by Kennet Petersen 29 August 2014 Approved by Mette Skovgaard 29 August

3 1 BACKGROUND The City of Copenhagen uses a number of different containers and bins for clinical waste. These are used to collect used syringes, ensure safekeeping and to pose no harm to the personnel handling these at the fixing room 1. They are also used for other types of medical or clinical hazardous waste arising from e.g. dentists and doctors. Similar containers are used in pharmacies and to a large extent at hospitals. Please advise the definition of clinical waste in appendix 8.1. The bins are typically white and some are bright yellow. Usually they are made of virgin plastic material (polypropylene - PP) and are considered for one-time use only, why they upon use are sent for specialized treatment in the form of incineration. As the bins contain hazardous materials it is important that the quality of the bins is high, to ensure safe handling during transportation. The ADR convention regulates this. The main features of the bins are easy purpose identification for the personnel and high quality of the bins to ensure that they are safe to handle. The bins do, however, not necessarily need to be white or yellow or necessarily be made of high quality virgin plastic. Being that the content of these bins is considered hazardous and needs to be handled with care it would be difficult to establish a reuse system. As an alternative it was discussed if the bins could be produced from recycled plastic waste material, also preventing the extraction of scarce oil resources. More specifically the recycled plastic could be rigid plastic materials originating from households, which can sometimes be difficult to find a market for, due to the different colours of the material. This would not necessarily be a problem for clinical waste bins. The main issues with using recycled rigid plastics as a material for clinical waste bins would therefore be the quality. 2 PURPOSE The purpose is: To test the possibilities of producing clinical waste bins from recycled plastic material. To test the usability of recycled plastic waste material from Copenhagen households for producing clinical waste bins. To test the quality of clinical waste bins produced from recycled plastic material. To test the user acceptance of clinical waste bins produced from recycled plastic material. To make an environmental and market assessment. 3 TEST DESCRIPTION A batch of approximately 180 tonnes of collected plastic waste from households of Copenhagen was tested at the Augustine sorting facility in Germany as a part of Action 3.2. Subsequently 2 tonnes of the out-sorted PP was sampled as raw material for the production of clinical waste bins. The 2 tonnes PP was meant to be sent for granulation, but no company could granulate such a small amount. Instead 2 tonnes PP from VOGT plastic in Germany originating from German household waste, with the same quality as the plastic from households in Copenhagen was used in the further test. 1 The fixing room is an offer from the City of Copenhagen for drug addicts to have a safe place to fix supervised by professional health staff. 3

4 The company RPC Superfos is an existing producer of clinical waste bins and used the re-processed PP to produce 20 bins of 20 litres. Many different sizes and shapes are used to collect clinical waste, but the 20 litres bin was chosen for the test as it is used frequently in the fixing room. Nine bins were then sent for quality check at Danish Technical Institute. The City of Copenhagen as well as the fixing room considered the bins for user acceptance. 4 TEST RESULTS 4.1 PRODUCING THE RECYCLED MATERIAL The out-sorted PP needed further processing in form of washing and granulation in order to be used as input material in the clinical waste bin production. During the granulation process grey colour was added to get uni-coloured bins. This is not a necessity for the test purpose. FIGURE 1: THE SORTED PP MATERIAL FROM DANISH HOUSEHOLDS (MARIUS PEDERSEN) FIGURE 2: GRANULATED MATERIAL FROM GERMAN HOUSEHOLDS 4.2 PRODUCING THE CLINICAL WASTE BINS FROM THE RECYCLED MATERIAL The bins were made from 100% post consumer regrind. Each bin required 620 gram of material. There were no barriers in the production. 4

5 FIGURE 3: THE WHITE BIN IS THE ORIGINAL, AND THE GREY THE NEW BINS MADE FROM POST CONSUMER PLASTIC 4.3 TESTING THE QUALITY OF THE CLINICAL WASTE BINS Three tests have been performed. The initial test was performed on a regular bin, and on two bins, which are fortified why it is assumed to obtain UN approval. The bin can though only be UN approved if the recycled plastic originates from industry. - Test 1: 100% recycled household PP. Lid made from recycled PP. - Test 2: 100% recycled industrial PP. Lid made from virgin PP. - Test 3: 50% recycled PP from households and 50% virgin PP. Lid made from virgin PP Test 1 The main findings of the test from Danish Technological Institute was that the bins passed compression and stacking test (ISO 12048), but failed the vertical impact test by dropping (ISO 2248). Furthermore a material description was missing. The test report can be seen in appendix 8.2. FIGURE 4: BINS AFTER DROP TEST (DANISH TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE) Further details on the regulations are described in

6 After the test results RPC Superfos informed that they do indeed have UN approved containers made from recycled plastic, i.e. fortified containers compared to the tested. It was therefore decided to make two additional tests, which are described below Test 2 The main findings of the test from Danish Technological Institute was that the bins passed compression and stacking test (ISO 12048), but failed the vertical impact test by dropping (ISO 2248). Furthermore, a material description was missing. The test report can be seen in appendix 8.3. FIGURE 5: BINS AFTER DROP TEST, SEEN FROM SIDE AND FROM THE BOTTOM (DANISH TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE) Test 3 The main findings of the test from Danish Technological Institute was that the bins passed compression and stacking test (ISO 12048), and passed the vertical impact test by dropping (ISO 2248). On the other hand a material description is still missing. The test report can be seen in appendix 8.3. FIGURE 6: BIN FOR TEST 3 (DANISH TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE) Typically bins containing recycled material contains 20% recycled material and the remaining 80% from virgin material. 4.4 TESTING THE USER ACCEPTANCE OF THE CLINICAL WASTE BINS The City of Copenhagen evaluates the bins to be similar to the existing ones. There is a different smell of the bins compared to bins made of virgin plastic. 6

7 Identification of the bins can happen in a different way than the colour of the bins, which is the reality today, e.g. with labels. According to the person responsible for the clinical waste scheme in City of Copenhagen, the bins made from recycled plastic would be accepted in the fixing room as long as shape, functionality and handling remain the same. The coloured bins might even be better accepted, as they will be a natural part of the fixing room interior, instead of the clinical white ones used today. It will still be possible to mark the bins with a yellow lid or plug to indicate the clinical waste content. It was not possible to get an evaluation from the Capital Region of Denmark within the timeframe of this project. 5 ENVIRONMENTAL AND MARKET ASSESSMENT The current use of containers in Copenhagen for clinical waste is presented below along with estimated weight, price and CO 2 -savings. The CO 2 savings is based on the bin which passed both tests, i.e. if the bins were produced from 50% recycled material and 50% virgin plastic compared to the current 100% virgin plastic. Only the direct savings from the production stage is considered, so changes in other stages of the life cycle is not included, e.g. emissions related to extra transportation and collection. TABLE 1: ANNUAL MARKET POTENTIAL AND CO 2 EMISSIONS No. of Estimated Estimated containers weight price (pieces/yr) (tonnes/yr) (EUR/yr) Needle and pharmacies scheme Doctors and dentists in Copenhagen The Capital Region of Denmark (12 hospitals)* Estimated saved CO 2 emissions (t CO 2 e/yr) 9, , ± , , ± , n.a ± 26.8 Total 141, ± 34.2 Notes: Amounts from 2013 (Nielsen, 2014; Mikkelsen, 2014; Madsen, 2014). The weight is estimated on a linear correlation with volume based on the 21.1 L bin which weighs 825 grams. The price is from 2014 (Københavns Kommune, n.d a). The CO 2 savings is calculated as production of virgin PP (2.48±1.06 t CO 2 e/t (Brogaard, 2013)) minus production of recycled LDPE material, as no data was available for secondary production of PP (0.47±0.30 t CO 2 e/t (Brogaard, 2013)) equals 2.01±1.10 t CO 2 e/t. *Estimate based on data from Herlev Hospital scaled up by the number of citizens in the Capital Region of Denmark (1,753,976) from the number of citizens Herlev Hospital serves (425,000). There are a great number of bins produced every year for clinical waste, and the amount of plastic equals 6.2% of the expected annual collection of plastic waste in Copenhagen households. Implementing 50% recycled content in the bins is expected to lower the price and the CO 2 saving lies in the area of 28.2 to 96.5 tonnes CO 2 equivalents per year. 5.1 LEGISLATION The ADR convention 2 (ADR 2013, 2013b) part 6 regulates the design and approval process for containers for transportation of hazardous waste. In Denmark, the Danish National Police's (Rigspolitiet) traffic department have the legal authority. With regard to technical/chemical inquiries, the Danish Emergency 2 European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road 7

8 Management Agency s (Beredskabsstyrelsen) prevention office has the authority (Trafikstyrelsen, 2014). As long as the recycled plastic is of the following definition: "Recycled plastic material: Materials recovered from used industrial packaging which have been cleaned and made ready to be used in the manufacture of new packaging." (ADR 2013, 2013a - paragraph p translated from Danish) - and meet a number of requirements defined in ADR then there is nothing to prevent using this for making hazardous waste containers. However, as this project would like to use rigid post consumer plastic, this does not live up to the definition of recycled plastic material. According to ADR it is possible to apply for a dispensation for new equipment, if it can be demonstrated to relevant authorities (in Denmark the Danish National Police and the Danish Emergency Management Agency) that these new advances comply with existing standards. Therefore, the new bins must be tested according to Test requirements for packaging; Vertical impact test by dropping Leak test (if it is intended for liquids) Internal pressure (hydraulic) test (if it is intended for liquids) Compression and stacking test Once the tested bins pass these tests, an application for dispensation should be prepared. According to Morten Pedersen from the Danish Technological Institute the barrier to get a dispensation is that we cannot ensure the plastic have not been exposed to undesirable chemical exposure. 6 CONCLUSION The first batch of bins produced did not pass the vertical impact test by dropping, but passed the compression and stacking test. Two new tests were performed, as RPC Superfos have an UN approved bin in production. This bin was tested with 100% post-industrial plastic waste, which live up to the approved definition in the ADR regulations. This bin failed the vertical impact test. The third bin was tested, and the only one to pass both tests was the one made from 50% post-consumer plastic waste and 50% virgin plastic. As bins are usually made of 20% post-consumer and 80% virgin plastic this is considered a successful result. All bins can be produced in existing product lines. User acceptance of the new bins is expected. There is a legal barrier, as the ADR convention does not approve post-consumer plastic as raw material. An application for dispensation should be prepared. The largest barrier in regards to getting a dispensation is that it cannot be ensured the plastic has not been exposed to e.g. undesirable chemicals. The material description will be hard to obtain as the plastic waste is heterogeneous and the usage before the plastic became waste is unknown. 8

9 Introducing 50% recycled content in all bins used in Copenhagen for the needle and pharmacies scheme, doctors and dentist as well as all hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark would lead to a CO 2 reduction in the production phase of approximately 62 tonnes per year. There is a large market potential in the City of Copenhagen alone, and an economic benefit from using recycled material is expected. 9

10 7 REFERENCES ADR 2013, 2013a, International transport - ADR 2013, DEL 1: Generelle bestemmelser, ADR 2013, 2013b, International transport - ADR 2013, DEL 6: Bestemmelser for konstruktion og prøvning af emballager, IBC s, storemballager, tanke og bulkcontainere, 9DA43D3F3F7B/0/DEL6aADR2013.pdf Brogaard, L.K-S. (2013) Life cycle assessment of waste management systems: Assessing technical externalities, PhD thesis, DTU Environment. Københavns Kommune, n.d. a, Bestilling af emballage, Københavns Kommune, n.d. b, Typer af klinisk risikoaffald, Madsen, T., 2014, The Capital Region of Denmark, communication Mikkelsen, R.R., 2014, RenoNorden, Emballage fra kanyle og apoteker ordningen Nielsen, L., 2014, Københavns Kommune, Emballageforbrug i Københavns Kommune Trafikstyrelsen, 2014, Transport af farligt gods, 10

11 8 APPENDIX 8.1 DEFINITION OF CLINICAL WASTE There are five types of waste covered by the rules of clinical waste in the City of Copenhagen (Københavns Kommune, n.d. b): Infected waste, sharps, chemical waste from small producers, biological waste and in some cases laboratory animals. Biological waste: Organs removed by surgery, amputated limbs, tissue, bone and blood residues, placentas, aborted foetus and the like is biological waste. Laboratory animals: Not all slaughtered laboratory animals is regarded as clinical waste. Only if the animal contains human pathogenic microorganisms, then all tissue from the slaughtered animals should be treated as infected waste. Chemical waste: Chemical waste from small producers is gathered under the scheme for clinical waste. Chemical waste may include residual disinfectant liquids or organic solvents. Sharps: Needles and other sharp and stabbing instruments such as scalpels, lancets and sutures should be treated as clinical waste. Likewise, laboratory glassware contaminated with blood, such as pipettes and haemoglobin envelopes. Infected waste: Bloody bandage material, vaccine residues, diagnostic kits, etc. All non-autoclaved waste from infection bearing people is to be considered clinical waste. Cytostatic agent contaminated syringes, glass and infusion equipment is also regarded as infected waste. 11

12 8.2 TEST RESULTS FROM DANISH TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF TEST 1 12

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15 8.3 TEST RESULTS FROM DANISH TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF TEST 2 AND 3 15

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