Plastic Pollution

The world is producing a record amount of single-use plastic waste, mostly made from polymers created from fossil fuels, despite global efforts to reduce plastic pollution and carbon emissions, according to a new report. While governments around the world have announced policies to reduce the volume of single-use plastic, there is still significant use of products like single-use straws, disposable cutlery, food containers, plastic bags, and in healthcare facilities the continued use of plastic procedure trays, peel packs and blue wrap. “Plastic chemicals can be found in the products we put on our skin, clothing we wear, the air we breathe, the food we eat and more,” according to new research. Recognizing that government agencies are considering banning the use of plastic materials, it’s time to consider other options.

Recycling capacity isn’t scaling up fast enough to deal with the amount of plastic being produced. This means that used plastic products are far more likely to be dumped in landfills, end up on beaches and in the ocean than to make it into recycling plants. There are 20 top producing companies making polymers for single-use plastic, together they generated around 450 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, about the same amount of total emissions as the United Kingdom. “It demonstrates beyond any doubt that the plastic pollution problem is getting much bigger and is being driven by the polymer producers, which are of course, driven by the oil and gas sector,” said Andrew Forrest, Minderoo founder.

From blue wrap to peel pouches, tip and corner protectors, absorbent liners and even a protective card for endoscope tips, the question remains, why are single use items so popular? They do not offer cost savings and they load up our landfills. Further are they even needed? Considering all we know about the harmful knock-on effects of single use items, why do we continue to embrace them when there are reusable products that can take their place? Many years ago, in the 1990’s Case Medical walked away from using plastic materials in any of our products. At the time, while plastic was popular, to us it simply made no sense. Plastic retains moisture, can warp, and deform, crack and craze due to temperature changes, and may not be compatible with most cleaners over the long term.

An assortment of thoughtfully chosen rigid, reusable containers can drastically reduce blue wrap use, while simultaneously better protecting expensive instruments. Use our customizable components, BackBone silicone brackets, insert boxes and partitions to secure your devices in place and avoid unnecessary repair and replacement. Use our rigid reusable SteriTite® universal containers to reduce the need for re-processing wrapped trays due to tears. Case Medical’s SteriTite Container system along with MediTray® configurable instrument trays offer unparalleled versatility and durability. Even our insert boxes are made of anodized aluminum and passivated stainless-steel components. They are treated to resist corrosion and truly last over time, creating not only a reusable, but a sustainable option in place of peel packs. Importantly, metal trays especially those made of aluminum are not only light weight, but highly thermo-conductive for sterilization, contributing to faster drying and quicker turns.

Contact us today to learn how Case Medical can help you create a sustainable and re-usable packaging solution for your facility. And contribute to the facility’s bottom line. Case Medical is honored to be a U.S. EPA Safer Choice Partner of the Year, offering reusable products and sustainable instrument chemistries that are biodegradable, free rinsing with excellent detergency.

Visit us at www.casemed.com to learn more about our products and how they can help your facility lighten its impact on the environment for the good of us all.