October 24, 2025 12:28
In the Netherlands, a closed-loop pilot project is demonstrating how non-contaminated hospital plastic waste can be transformed into new packaging solutions through advanced chemical recycling technologies.
The initiative, launched by polyolefin producer Sabic in partnership with the Zuyderland Medical Center, also involves converters Coveris and ACE, as well as healthcare brands Artivion and Mölnlycke Health Care.
The program began in June 2024 with the introduction of a dedicated collection system at Zuyderland for clean plastic waste that had not come into contact with patients, blood or bodily fluids. Although such materials are traditionally incinerated, they still represent a valuable resource. With support from specialized transport company L’Ortye, the collected waste was sorted and delivered to Sabic’s Dutch site, where it was processed into pyrolysis oil using advanced recycling processes.
This alternative feedstock was then used to produce new polyethylene, with properties equivalent to virgin resin, through mass-balance attribution. The certified circular polymer, marketed under Sabic’s TruCircle brand, was reintroduced into the medical value chain in the form of new packaging materials.
Coveris employed the TruCircle polyethylene to produce packaging for Artivion’s vascular guide wires, with 25% of the content attributed to recycled hospital waste.
Mölnlycke Health Care, meanwhile, used it to manufacture surgical drapes for its ProcedurePak kits. These included a material component developed by ACE and incorporated 49% recycled content, also derived from hospital-generated plastic waste.
In parallel with the industrial rollout, the initiative is supported by academic research. Maastricht University has secured a European Interreg grant to lead a three-year project focused on the circular transformation of health and care systems in the Meuse–Rhine region. Sabic and Zuyderland are among the key partners in this research-driven effort, which aims to bridge innovation, public health and sustainability.
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