Recovering Plastics in a Hospital Can Have Environmental, Social and Economic Benefits.
Plastics are omnipresent in today's healthcare facilities. In Quebec, recyclable plastics (the ones with a 1 to 7 number on it, excluding number 6 or styrofoam) represent 7% of all the waste generated by healthcare institutions - 2,907 tonnes each year (Proulx et al. 2009). The vast majority of these plastics are sent to landfill instead of being recycled due to the lack of suitable recycling systems. In collaboration with three Montreal-based hospitals, Synergie Santé Environnement (SSE) conducted an 18-month pilot project to implement a sustainable plastic recycling system with threefold objectives: reduce landfill costs, obtain royalties for the plastics and assure traceability.
Co-founder and executive director of SSE. He has a master's degree in Biology from the Free University of Brussels and a master's degree in Occupational and Environmental Health from the University of Montreal. He acted as a sustainable development coordinator in a Montreal healthcare facility from 2004 to 2011.
Jérôme
J
Ribesse
Deputy director and senior consultant at SSE. Trained as a respiratory therapist, Nathalie worked at St. Luke's Hospital of the University of Montreal (CHUM) for 23 years where she practiced within all departments. She is also an instructor in neonatal resuscitation, certified by the Canadian Paediatric Society (2006-present), and was an instructor in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillation (AED), certified by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Quebec (2000-2006).
Nathalie
N
Robitaille
D004782:Environmental Health; D006268:Health Facilities; D010969:Plastics; D011792:Quebec; D059027:Recycling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D010969:Plastics