Recycling Healthcare PPE waste into High Value Architectural Products

随着COVID-19几乎成为遥远的记忆，我们越来越多地使用一次性塑料PPE将在未来几年继续对NHS和环境产生重大影响。NHS预计将花费3.19亿英镑用于储存和处置因大流行而不再需要的个人防护装备。此外，NHS每年分发约5000吨一次性个人防护装备，每年在废物处理上花费高达210万英镑。通过防止这些废物流进入堆填区或焚化，我们将积极有效地减少这些材料对环境和经济的影响。在废物管理上花费的钱更少，排放到大气中的二氧化碳更少，在制造新产品时使用可持续的、可回收的材料作为资源，所消耗的能源也更少。我们的目标是为这些材料创造新的用途，特别是在建筑环境中，我们可以将材料的生命周期从1年延长到至少15-20年。通过设计和实施这种材料存在的循环业务流程，我们希望为英国提供一系列可持续的替代建筑和建筑产品。

With COVID-19 an almost distant memory, our increased utilisation of single use plastic PPE will continue to have a significant impact on the NHS and environment for years to come. The NHS expects to spend £319m on the storage and disposal of PPE which is no longer needed as a result of the pandemic. Additionally, the NHS distributes around 5000 tonnes of single use PPE each year, costing them up to £2.1m per year on waste disposal.By preventing these waste streams from reaching landfill or incineration, we will actively and effectively reduce the impact that these materials have on the environment and economy. With less money spent on waste management, less CO2 emitted into the atmosphere and less energy expended by using sustainable, recycled material as a resource in the manufacturing of new products.It is our aim to create new uses for these materials, specifically in architectural contexts - where we can extend the lifecycle of the material from <1 year to a minimum of 15-20 years. By designing and implementing the circular business process for this material to exist within, we look to provide the UK with a range of sustainable alternative construction and architectural products.