Before we start a time consuming carbon footprinting / LCA exercise, can anyone point me in the direction of any data around the carbon footprint of dialysis canisters, and carbon savings of recycling them?
I accept avoidance of canister use through central delivery would be better, but some of our sites it is just not an option currently.
Hi Eleanor,
We are doing a bit of work on recycling canisters in our region. We just started recycling our canisters in Leeds main unit and some units in Yorkshire region.
We are doing a bit of work on recycling canisters in our region. We just started recycling our canisters in Leeds main unit and some units in Yorkshire region.
I was struggling initially trying to carbon footprint the savings by recycling as the figures from the BEIS 2023 database makes it look like there’s no difference between recycling and combustion (and had more carbon emissions than landfill!). But Ayoma posted a very helpful environmental outcomes carbon footprinting for healthcare recently.
Below are the carbon factors I have used:
Recycling: 21 kgCO2e/tonne (BEIS 2023 - But I just saw it is much lower - 6.41061 kgCO2e/tonne in the updated 2024 database)
Low-temperature incineration with energy for waste - dry mixed recycling, domestic waste : 172 kgCO2e / tonne (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652620354925)
Landfill: 8.88386 kgCO2e/tonne (BEIS 2024)
It would be worthwhile checking your trust's waste segregation system, whether recycling is an option (it isn't in certain trusts in our region - but might be coming soon!), the costs per tonne of waste, and what happens with domestic waste (landfill vs. energy for recovery).
Also, if waste management is happy to recycle the canisters (some might say no because it is "pharmaceutical" or because it is "acid" waste)
Next is which waste stream the canisters are going into currently and what happens to that waste stream.
Ours was in the domestic waste stream (black bin) which gets incinerated for energy recovery. Now we have a separate clear recycling bag to put our canisters in. The remainder acid in the canister needs to be dumped into the sink and the canister needs to be rinsed with water first before going into the recycling bin.
One of the units throws all its canisters into a domestic waste bin, and someone from waste management sieves through the bin and takes out the canisters for recycling (I am not sure why they can't just be given a separate bin to skip a step and save the time of that poor waste management person - they are exploring this now). But speaking to other units' previous experiences with recycling bins - unfortunately, the wrong waste gets dumped into the recycling bin, so even then, someone might need to sieve through the recycling bin to remove the wrong items. :(
Hope this helps! Happy to chat more about this.
Hi both,
This is indeed a tricky issue. The CO2e figures given within the BEIS Db are only to deliver the goods to a recycling centre. The emissions associated with the processing are actually counted within the electricity generated by the process, thus landfill appears less than recycling. Chantelle's paper is very useful for giving some numbers re: the various waste streams.
A slightly alternative way to look at it is the emissions associated with manufacturing HDPE. Our cannisters (5L 1:44 from FMC) weigh 0.25kg each which has a factor of 3.09 kgCO2e/kg (BEIS 2024), meaning every can generates 0.773 kgCO2e of emissions. If they were made from recycled HDPE the factor is 1.76 kgCO2e/kg thus each can would be 0.44 kgCO2e.
I've never understood why some Trusts say they can't recycle - that is decided by the label on the can. These are very high quality virgin HDPE with quality sealed lids - perfect for recycling. I have a MSDS for the actual acid concentrate that demonstrates it is safe. I did contact the British Plastics Association to see if there was a business that would take thousands of these for free but didn't get anywhere.
I enquired why FMC didn't recycle them and it was explained that it was due to CE marking and that they have to demonstrate that no plasticizers leach into the fluid for a time in excess of the shelf life. That makes it tricky to use recycled cans.
Happy to discuss.
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