Yorkshire-based waste management and recycling business, MYGroup, has had its application for an environmental permit to recycle clinical waste approved by the Environment Agency.
The new permit means the company can now process a range of clinical waste items, such as used syringes, surgical dressings and personal protective equipment (PPE) from various settings, including hospitals and GP practices, dental surgeries, veterinary clinics and pharmaceutical facilities.
Yorkshire-based MYGroup is looking to build on its success in processing hard-to-recycle non-clinical waste discarded during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has recycled over 20 million such items, including used PPE, swabs and lateral-flow devices, all while avoiding incineration or sending material to landfill.
Following these efforts, MYGroup is already speaking to a number of NHS and private providers about the commissioning of collection and processing services.
The company will process clinical waste at its Hull facility, where it has invested in the latest autoclave machinery from MACS International. The MACS 800 machine installed at the site is the first of its kind in the UK, allowing clinical and hazardous waste to be sterilised and shredded on site, with zero emissions and low water consumption. MYGroup expects the company to process up to 63 tons of clinical waste a week using the machine.
The resulting safe residual waste product will then be broken down through MYGroup’s other innovative separation and recovery processes. Any remaining plastic material will be converted into MYboard™ – a material similar in consistency to plywood – which can be used for construction, shop fitting and joinery, as well as the manufacture of products for re-sale and use in community settings, such as benches and desks for schools.
MYGroup aims to expand its clinical waste processing capabilities over the coming years, including offering a mobile waste processing service in partnership with MACS, with additional markets outside the UK under consideration. In addition, an even larger fixed autoclave machine is planned for the Hull site, together with the establishment of a ‘working showroom’ for prospective clients and partners.
After a rigorous application process, we are delighted to receive the clinical waste permit, which broadens our arsenal and reach in the ongoing fight against waste, and opens a host of new markets for the company.
It’s high time we stop accepting that the only solution for certain types of waste – particularly from healthcare settings in the wake of the pandemic – is incineration or landfill. We have proven time and time again that the “unrecyclable” is in fact recyclable, so we welcome this endorsement from the Environment Agency in us as a provider trying to overturn this status quo.
Steve Carrie, Director, MYGroup
