Coveris partners with SABIC for medical plastics recycling project

Paper and plastics manufacturer Coveris has embarked on a healthcare circularity project, aiming to successfully recycle used medical plastic packaging back into new contact-sensitive packaging.

Coveris has teamed up with SABIC, Zuyderland Medical Centre, healthcare brand Artivion and other partners.

Hospital plastic waste poses a serious and growing challenge. The company says that in Europe alone, an estimated 1,700 kilotonnes of non-contaminated polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) medical waste are incinerated annually, despite being technically recyclable. While the healthcare sector must prioritise sterility and patient safety, these standards often make circular solutions difficult to implement.

Within SABIC’S TRUCIRCLE initiative, a ground-breaking model for transforming hospital waste back into high-quality, contact-sensitive packaging was born – marking the first closed-loop healthcare packaging initiative of its kind.

The project kicked off in 2024, when Zuyderland Medical Centre in the Netherlands introduced a new waste collection concept, targeting non-contaminated plastic waste that would otherwise be incinerated.

This non-contaminated waste is now collected in separate pink bags, then processed by SABIC, a global chemical company, first into pyrolysis oil and then into certified circular polyethylene (PE) – TRUCIRCLE PE, meeting strict medical standards. This innovative feedstock is then reintroduced into the medical value chain by Coveris.

Coveris Halle extrudes film from the virgin-like TRUCIRCLE PE resin and Coveris Rohrdorf converts the film into sterile pouches. Further delivered to healthcare brand Artivion, packing their vascular surgery guidewires and, once more, supplying back to Zuyderland Medical Center, the loop is fully closed. The final packaging solution now contains 25% of the packaging attributed to non-contaminated medical waste.

By transforming hospital-generated plastic waste into new certified circular packaging materials, the collaboration demonstrates how systemic innovation and strong partnerships can reduce waste, conserve resources, and enable a more sustainable healthcare industry.

The project is another building block of Coveris’ No Waste vision, to eliminate waste in all its forms – avoiding product waste, packaging waste, and operational waste across all industries.

Jan-Willem Bruijsten, Segment Director Medical at Coveris Group, commented: “At Coveris, we see collaboration as key to a circular future, and we are extremely proud to be part of this pioneering initiative. It proves that circularity in healthcare packaging is possible. The project fully echoes the core values of our No Waste vision. This partnership is a perfect example of how we can make meaningful impact by joining forces.”

Khaled Al- Jalawi, Global Circular Economy Director at SABIC stated: “We are excited about this pioneering circular business model pilot, which showcases the potential of circular plastic innovations when leading actors from across the medical ecosystem closely collaborate. Non-contaminated medical plastic waste represents a valuable feedstock opportunity, and SABIC TRUCIRCLE solutions could play a major role in advancing circularity in healthcare.”

Med-Tech Insights spoke to Coveris about the launch of its new brand at COMPAMED 2024. It said that following extensive investments in its medical production facilities, it would consolidate its capabilities and medical offerings under one brand name, MediFlex.