Recycling Healthcare PPE waste into High Value Architectural Products

随着COVID-19几乎成为遥远的记忆，我们增加使用一次性塑料PPE将在未来几年继续对NHS和环境产生重大影响。英国国民保健服务预计将花费3. 19亿英镑用于储存和处置由于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PPE，每年的废物处理成本高达210万英镑。通过防止这些废物流进入垃圾填埋场或焚烧，我们将积极有效地减少这些材料对环境和经济的影响。在新产品的生产过程中，使用可持续的可回收材料作为资源，减少浪费管理的资金，减少排放到大气中的二氧化碳，减少能源消耗。我们的目标是为这些材料创造新的用途，特别是在建筑领域-我们可以将材料的生命周期从不到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.