Thermal Compaction Group (TCG) has developed a world first for recycling clinical sterilisation wrap for the healthcare industry. Thomas Davison-Sebry & Tim Hourahine explain more… Visit www.ciwm-journal.co.uk

1. CIWM | Journal May 2017
T
he Sterimelt – our "world
first" solution for recycling
clinical sterilisation wrap for
the healthcare industry – not
only diverts large amounts away from
landfill and/or incineration, but it
also reduces the carbon footprint and
costs created by transporting this very
lightweight and space hungry material.
The concept behind the Sterimelt
machine was attributed to its sister
company, Styromelt, which recycles
polystyrene (or EPS as it’s more
commonly known).
TCG was originally approached by
Kimberley Clarke Healthcare, now called
Halyard Health (HYH), to address the
problem of how to recycle this useful
plastic polymer. TCG built a proto-type
machine, called "Sterimelt" and relied
heavily on HYH to supply clean unused
samples of sterilisation wrap. This
formed the basis for the concept.
After extensive testing and
experimentation in our own facility
in order to get the correct parameters
to carry out the process, Sterimelt
needed to be operated in a full working
environment in which to trial its
suitability on a hospital site. Once
situated in a live hospital environment
and working on a semi-continuous basis,
this highlighted additional operational
issues which again had to be addressed.
The prototype Sterimelt was
installed at St Woolos Hospital in
Newport. The technology has since
undergone an 18-month long trial in
collaboration with our NHS partners,
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
(ABUHB) and, during this time all
operational issues were overcome.
It was found to be capable of a
minimum six cycles per day and, by
processing clinical sterilisation wrap
waste from Newport’s Royal Gwent
Hospital alone, it produced 90-110kg
of sterile plastic blocks daily, recycling
around two tonnes of wrap every
month. Introduction of the Sterimelt
has enabled ABUHB to make significant
cost savings and generate extra revenue
through the sale of the plastic processed
blocks. The recycling process is being
scaled up within ABUHB and the first
production Sterimelt has now been
ordered by the hospital in Newport, and
is currently being manufactured.
What's A Wrap?
CLINICAL STERILISATION wrap is
a non-woven polypropylene wrap
used to maintain the sterility of
medical instruments and equipment
in a hospital operating theatre. The
A Clinical FinishThermal Compaction Group (TCG) has developed and produced what it says is
a world first for recycling clinical sterilisation wrap for the healthcare industry.
Thomas Davison-Sebry & Tim Hourahine explain more…
ReproducedwithkindpermissionofCIWMandCIWMEnterprises.Visitwww.ciwm-journal.co.uk
HEALTHCARE & HAZARDOUS WASTE
Healthcare & Hazardous Waste – CIWM May 201748

2. May 2017 CIWM | Journal
material can also be used as bed sheets
(and increasingly more common, as
curtains) on wards and also as covers
over the patient while on the operating
table. A significant amount of hospital
waste from operating theatres is this
clinical sterilisation wrap. The vast
majority of it is uncontaminated and
therefore non-hazardous. However, it
is common practice to commingle the
uncontaminated with the contaminated
wrap, which then falls into the category
of hazardous waste under the European
Waste Directive Framework. While it
is classified as hazardous, this means
that it requires specialist handling, is
significantly more expensive to remove
than non-hazardous waste and will be
disposed of by incineration or landfill.
The Sterimelt allows hospitals to
deal with the non-hazardous clinical
sterilisation wrap waste on the hospital
site with a more efficient, compliant
and sustainable system. The process
has been visited and approved by
Natural Resources Wales using its
aligned English counterparts, The
Environment Agency’s, position
statement and legislation.
In the process of manufacturing
clinical sterilisation wrap, dense
beads or pellets of polypropylene
plastic polymer are melted to make
the finished product. The Sterimelt
machine, which is comparable to a
large oven, reverses the manufacturing
process by applying carefully controlled
heat to re-melt the wrap. It becomes
a liquid that can flow into a mould
cavity, creating a dense block of single
polymer, polypropylene plastic. As a
result, the volumetric size of the waste
is also reduced by up to 90 percent.
The plastic blocks produced by the
machine are sterile and have been
independently laboratory tested, so they
can be categorised as non-hazardous
waste and are consequently easier and
cheaper to handle and recycle. They
even have commercial value, due to the
fact that they can be granulated for reuse
in the manufacturing of new products.
Therefore, in addition to reducing the
amount of money that needs to be spent
on specialist waste disposal, the system
opens up a new revenue stream for the
NHS or private healthcare sector, which
can sell the processed blocks for profit.
The Sterimelt machine itself,
although protected by global patents,
is simple to operate and only one
button needs to be pressed manually
to start it. It then processes the waste
automatically. It also allows for real
time data recording.
At the end of the cycle, the solidified
material is removed and the Sterimelt
can be refilled to start the process
again. It does not release any harmful
gasses during operation, which has
been verified by an independent test
report and a comprehensive filtration
system is used to reduce any unusual
"plastic" polyaromatic odours that
can occur when heating any plastic
polymer. The exhaust output is
harmless, but could be a source of
unfamiliar odours for people who work
or live in its vicinity, if the exhaust was
left unfiltered.
Plastic Potential
TCG IS not just focusing on the supply of
Sterimelt machines into the healthcare
sector, however, but is also keen to
follow up the increased potential of the
processed plastic blocks. University
engineering departments across South
Wales have been approached to explore
the feasibility of producing 3D filament
from the processed blocks, further
enhancing profitable returns for the
hospital and ultimately returning its
own waste back into 3D printing media
for use in the hospitals for creating
everyday use items.
ABUHB obtained support and an
expert mentor through a "Dragon's
Den" type process from Wales' Bevan
Commission’s exemplar programme.
The Bevan Commission is a group of
international experts giving advice
to the Minister for Health and Social
Services to help ensure that Wales can
increasingly draw on best practice from
across the world, while remaining true
to the principles of the NHS.
The Sterimelt technology won
the “Success Through Innovation”
category at the 2016 Welsh Business
Awards held in Cardiff in February
2017. Our NHS partner’s, ABUHB, have
been shortlisted for the Lord Carter
Innovation Award at the forthcoming
NHS Hospitals Innovation Conference
and Exhibition in London, and also
shortlisted for the NHS Sustainability
Awards. We believe that Sterimelt will
eventually be adopted worldwide, and
we are already discussing distributor
agreements worldwide.
Our trials have shown that we can
take the sterilisation wrap as waste,
reduce its volume substantially, render
it inert and then reintroduce it to the
supply chain, a true circular economy
process. The Welsh NHS and Welsh
Government Innovation are taking a
close interest in what we are doing, and
other hospitals across the UK are very
keen to embrace the technology… in
fact, the first fully modified production
model has been ordered.
We believe this is an exciting new
technology that will continue to assist
the UK’s NHS and the private medical
sector and return much needed revenue
back to health boards within the British
Isles, to assist with patient care. <
Thomas Davison-Sebry & Tim Hourahine are the highly
motivated duo at the forefront of the sales and marketing
engagement. Using combined business skills and
acumen they enthusiastically present the Sterimelt
process to their ever increasing database of interested
public and private sector healthcare leaders globally.
HEALTHCARE & HAZARDOUS WASTE
Healthcare & Hazardous Waste – CIWM May 2017 49