Brightmark CEO Bob Powell discusses Plastics Renewal technology and how to bring sustainability into the medical industry.
Brightmark
What motivated Brightmark to work with Lewis Salvage?
At Brightmark, our focus is on developing solutions that have a positive impact not only on the environment, but also in the communities where we operate. That commitment is especially important to us with our circularity centre in Ashley, Indiana, and that’s why we’ve sought out impactful collaborations in the surrounding area – namely Fort Wayne and, of course, in Warsaw, where Lewis Salvage is based.
Our solution complements the existing mechanical recycling system and provides new ways to deal with waste. These solutions benefit communities with recycling infrastructure challenges and help manufacturing industries and businesses improve their environmental footprint.
Warsaw, the “Orthopaedic Capital of the World,” has the world's highest concentration of orthopaedic design and manufacturing companies – and many of them work with Lewis Salvage to recycle products that have reached the end of their lifecycles or are no longer usable in the medical field. Lewis Salvage’s system of unpacking medical implants and separating the metal from the packaging pairs extremely well with our Plastics Renewal technology, which can recycle all kinds of plastic types one through seven. It’s a collaboration that makes a lot of sense, and we couldn’t be happier with our progress so far.
Can you elaborate on the technologies and processes Brightmark uses in its Plastics Renewal technology?
Brightmark’s patented Plastics Renewal technology is designed to convert plastic waste, specifically hard-to-recycle plastics, into new, circular products, diverting them from landfills and the environment.
We receive incoming plastic waste from various sources, including plastics (4 through 7) at the end of their lifecycle from agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation sectors. Once we receive plastic waste, we leverage our Plastics Renewal process to break down the material by heating it in an oxygen-free environment through a patented pyrolysis process.
The end product is circular pyrolysis oil that is ISCC PLUS certified. ISCC PLUS is a global sustainability certification system that certifies the product will be used to create circular plastics. These plastics have a much lower environmental footprint compared to new virgin plastics made from fossil fuels.
What are the biggest challenges faced in recycling medical plastics?
According to the American Medical Association, the United States produces six million tons of medical waste annually, with plastics accounting for about 25% of that total. Despite 85% of that waste being non-hazardous, the overwhelming majority is not recycled. A key reason is the multi-material makeup of plastic healthcare waste, making it extremely difficult for hospital workers to effectively segregate the material into the proper waste and recycling streams.
Brightmark’s strategic partnership with Lewis Salvage helps reduce medical plastic waste because our technology can accept and process all types of plastics 1 through 7, even those plastics that are deemed difficult to recycle.
How does the Minimised Landfill Recycling Program work?
Warsaw, Indiana, is home to one-third of the world’s orthopaedic manufacturing companies and two-thirds of the world’s hip and knee manufacturing companies. Because of this, Lewis Salvage receives medical waste from those healthcare facilities. Among the many services they offer, Lewis Salvage can unpack medical implants and mechanically separate the metal material from its packaging. They can then destroy the implants and send the packaging and additional plastics they receive from implant manufacturers and medical device companies to the Brightmark facility in Ashley. From there, we can turn that material into the building blocks for new circular plastics.
What environmental impact has this made?
To date, we are extremely proud to share that Brightmark has been able to recycle approximately 400,000 pounds of plastic waste as a result of its strategic partnership with Lewis Salvage – effectively diverting this waste from landfills and incinerators.
Brightmark and Lewis Salvage will continue to identify and assess new streams of plastic medical waste to recycle. We ultimately hope this program will inspire other manufacturers—both in the medical space and beyond—to collaborate with companies like Lewis Salvage and Brightmark, allowing us to continuously increase the amount of plastic waste that gets recycled. There is so much more to be done, and we’re always open to conversations with new feedstock suppliers.