TerraCycle Regulated Waste’s solution for responsibly dealing with crucial safety gear after use
There is good news for fleets that care about safe disposal of PPE and the environment. With the Covid-19 threat ongoing, an estimated 129billion facemasks and 65bn plastic gloves are being produced worldwide every month. Although PPE has become indispensable to keep businesses operating, these items are not recyclable in typical bins and contribute to already crowded landfills – and even then, that’s just in the best-case scenario, when they’re actually disposed of properly. The problem is that this surge in production of protection has led to littered PPE covering job sites and streets and clogging marine habitats.
To address this separate unintended public health crisis as well as the threat PPE poses to the environment as plastic pollution, a company called TerraCycle Regulated Waste has created a recycling solution for single-use gloves and masks. Designed as a recycling system for businesses in need of a turnkey solution for hazardous waste disposal, the company’s PPE EasyPak Containers allow business owners and managers to recycle used gloves and masks onsite, thereby allowing staff to responsibly dispose of their protective gear instead of littering the environment with plastic waste. How to recycle PPE waste TerraCycle Regulated Waste offers three types of containers:
- Disposable Gloves EasyPak Box– to recycle vinyl, nitrile and latex gloves;
- Disposable Masks EasyPak Box– to recycle surgical and industrial facemasks; and
- Safety Equipment and Protective Gear EasyPak Box – to recycle earplugs, gloves, safety glasses, masks and even disposable garments.
When full, the boxes are returned to TerraCycle Regulated Waste for processing and the collected waste will be cleaned, melted and remoulded to make new products. “TerraCycle Regulated Waste developed a solution for PPE waste that is as innovative as it is easy to use” said Kevin Flynn, global VP of TerraCycle operations and director of TerraCycle Regulated Waste. “The EasyPak recycling programme can help businesses maintain workplace safety while simultaneously keeping their lots, grounds, surrounding communities and shared environment free from plastic litter.” All EasyPak boxes are UN compliant, the company says, and are sealed while in transit, limiting any possibility of contamination. Additionally, the containers are available for purchase through a reorder subscription programme ensuring managers are never left without a solution to their universal waste.
The boxes travel for up to a week before they are received at TerraCycle Regulated Waste facilities, where additional safety precautions are taken in accordance with CDC recommendations. The EasyPak programme does not accept medical waste or biohazardous materials.