Recycling of single-use medical instruments

In clinics and medical health centers, obsolete diagnostic equipment, instruments, and treatment and technical aids are constantly accumulating. Depending on the specialization of the respective facility, this involves a variety of different materials that have a high potential for recycling. These are in particular:

• large electrical devices such as CT/MRI/US/XR,
• obsolete or defective equipment and instruments,
• Disposable instruments: "surgical" instruments (forceps, scissors, clamps, needle holders)
• explants (e.g. artificial joints, pacemakers)
• disposable endoscopes, EP catheters, instruments for surgical robots
• used single-use power tools or surgical staplers

In particular, the use of single-use instruments has been steadily increasing for several years. Initially, these were disposable metal products made of stainless steel such as scissors, forceps or needle holders, but now high-quality, complex products such as video endoscopes or surgical instruments for minimally invasive operations are also being used.

Up to now, there have been no comprehensive approaches to collecting high-quality medical disposables and feeding them into a high-quality recycling process. The aim of this joint project is to demonstrate on a broad basis the organizational and technical feasibility of a take-back concept in order to subsequently motivate the relevant economic operators to implement this step-by-step in Germany for initially metal-based disposables.

Focus & approach

The focus of the joint project is the development of a take-back strategy for initially simple single-material products made of e.g. stainless steel or plastic, which is to be tested and validated in various clinics. Fraunhofer IWKS as well as IRED - Institute for Recycling, Ecology & Design will use their expertise in the field of take-back systems and circular economy to bring together the requirements of the value chain from manufacturers of medical devices, clinics and service providers of disposal logistics and recycling and define a coordinated strategy. The subsequent validation through pilot tests in clinics in conjunction with disposal logistics providers is intended to demonstrate feasibility. By identifying optimization potential, a coordinated solution with potential for implementation in Germany should be available at the end of the project term.

Work packages

Development of a take-back and recycling concept

• Definition of the product scope
• Presentation of recycling and recovery options, requirements with regard to hygiene, occupational health and safety, and waste management regulations
• Selection of a suitable container system for piloting
• Development of concept variants and joint definition of the final concept in the consortium

Preparation of the pilot phase

• Selection of clinics/wards
• Risk assessment
• Preliminary discussions in clinics
• Timing

Pilot phase

• Instruction of staff
• Distribution of containers
• 2-week phases
• Final interviews
• Collection of the bins
• Evaluation of collection quality

Optimization phase

• Joint evaluation of the trial phase in the consortium
• Evaluation of the interviews/ experiences/collection quality
• Approaches to concept optimization

Definition and organizational-economic evaluation of the overall concept

• Definition and organizational description of the overall concept
• Proposal for a container system
• Economic evaluation
• Preliminary planning of an implementation in a consortium and involvement of possible economic operators

Planned start and duration of the project:

01.10.2023 - duration 2 years

Contribution to the project by the partners: manufacturers of medical devices 9,990 € / year, clinics 3,990.00 € / year*.


✓ Kick-off meeting and two project meetings annually

✓ Detailed final report at the end of the project

✓ Protected online access to project results.

 
* The project can be started if the required project amount of 78.000,00€ per year is reached.