Given the overwhelming health crisis that the world has tried to battle in recent times, it’s perhaps unsurprising that demand for medical waste shredders has rocketed during this same period.

Hospitals and other clinical facilities have been pushed almost to breaking point as they have worked tirelessly to keep people safe from the Covid-19 virus. So, thinking about all-things sustainability may not have been top of their list of priorities.

However, environmental drivers aside, the medical sector must remain compliant when handling the multifaceted and often complex – if not hazardous – waste streams typical to these settings. What’s more, the sheer volume of waste arising from over-stretched hospitals is tough to manage, but potentially contaminated materials must continue to be dealt with in a timely manner. This is critical both in terms of maintaining safe and hygienic surroundings and freeing up space for the medical profession to do its job too.

So, why do we need to shred?

Some operators steer away from handling clinical waste such as soiled dressings or PPE, due to its often-corrosive nature. But even seemingly high-risk waste does still have a resource value, and shredders exist that are up to the job. So rather than sending these difficult materials to landfill, why not prioritise the recycling or energy recovery route instead?

Here are some key things to consider:

• Think about the health risks associated with medical waste disposal. Do we want surgical dressings slowly rotting on a landfill site, for instance? Or would we rather shred such high calorific value materials to ensure their safe use via the Waste to Energy market? The XR shredder is a high-capacity, versatile machine when it comes to the conversion of ‘waste’ into an alternative fuel.
• Sometimes, a shredder may need to form part of a turnkey waste treatment system, so that contaminated medical waste can be safely cleansed as part of the recycling or energy recovery process. It’s therefore important to speak to a knowledgeable shredder manufacturer with experience of this niche sector, and to ensure the chosen machine is modular and will easily integrate into a wider waste processing line.
• Often, shredding makes it possible to liberate and extract valuable materials that would otherwise remain ‘locked’ inside a product, so that they can be used for remanufacturing. The ‘extraction’ of silicone absorption beads from sanitary items, is a good example.
• Despite highly controlled waste segregation methodologies within clinical settings, the fast-paced nature of the healthcare sector means objects like sharps can sometimes end up in the incorrect waste-stream, in a bin intended only for linen, for example. Shredding helps liberate and separate such materials, as well as providing the opportunity for the correct level of sanitisation to be undertaken.
• Hospital food waste is another globally ‘hot topic’. In the USA, for example, food waste is reported to account for 10-15% of a hospital’s solid waste arisings every day, while in the UK, the number is closer to 18% – the equivalent of 1 in every 6 meals.
• While the reduction of such waste at source should be the priority – and any surplus food should always be donated to feed the hungry, where possible – shredding organic waste down to a homogenous particle size can achieve a perfect fermentation substrate for aerobic and anaerobic digestion. The UNTHA RS40 particularly excels when handling this tricky application.
• UNTHA has engineered cutting configurations specifically for processing medical waste, with mechanical seals, bearings and gearboxes protected from the ingress of corrosive materials. Intrinsic foreign object protection systems are also crucial in safe-guarding a medical waste shredder from damage, as the contents of this industry’s waste streams can never be entirely guaranteed – for example, we’ve even been known to come across titanium hip joints!

 

For further information about UNTHA’s medical shredders or to chat through your specific requirements, please contact us.