With plastic pollution having an ever-increasing impact on our environment[1], the team at DTR Medical are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Therefore, we have developed a NEW Polybag for our biggest selling product, the Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch. With the environment at the forefront of our mind we are always looking to reduce the amount of plastic used, as well as improving waste management.
In the world today ‘packaging accounts for over 40% of plastic usage’[2], and we understand the importance of reducing the amount of plastic required on our products whilst fully complying to regulatory guidelines. Our Biopsy Punch’s Polybag has now been refined, to save 550kg (Kilograms) of plastic per year.
Through these reductions, we will be able to support causes for reducing global plastic pollution levels. This is particularly important as many of it ends up in the ocean, with estimates predicting that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish[3]. The amount of plastic saved per year (550kg) through our Polybag change equates the weight of:
Our Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch already has environmental benefits such as its handle, which has 20% of it made from sustainable corn starch, a lightweight, recycled material. Furthermore, our instrument is 100% manufactured and distributed in Wales, reducing the number of CO2 emissions transporting and producing the product.
At DTR Medical we are always looking for ways to be kinder to our environment. Our continual efforts include our decision to remove a selection of our doubled packed instrument variants. Sterility barriers remained identical to double packed substitutes but with a reduced environmental impact, through less plastic packaging. We were able to make the transition whilst maintaining our commitment to guarantee one sterile layer on all products.
Our efforts do not stop here! We have generated plans to focus on reducing the amount of plastic used on further products in our wide variety of surgical instruments.
It is in our best interests to provide customers with the highest quality Sterile Single-use instruments whilst promoting sustainable practice.
For more information and to discuss how else we can support you please contact marketing@dtrmedical.com.
[1] Chae, Y., & An, Y.-J. (2018, September). Current research trends on plastic pollution and ecological impacts on the soil ecosystem: A review. Environmental Pollution, 240, 387-395.
[2] Ritschel, C. (2018, April 18). Why is plastic bad for the environment and how much is in the ocean? Retrieved from The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/plastic-bad-environment-why-ocean-pollution-how-much-single-use-facts-recycling-a8309311.html
[3] Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., & Law, K. L. (2015, February 13). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science Magazine, 347(6223), 768. Retrieved from http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/347/6223/768.full.pdf
[4] https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-green-sea-turtle/
[5] https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/herring-gull/