Spotlight: Circular healthcare collaboration recycles pre-surgery packaging and unused fabrics

Name: Berry Global, Inc.
Address: 101 Oakley Street, Evansville, Indiana, 47710
Telephone: +1 (877) 662-3779
Price range: £000 - £0000000

July 20, 2023

Berry Global, Deaconess Midtown Hospital, Nexus Circular, and Evansville Packaging Supply are working together to keep used, sterile healthcare plastics in use and out of our environment. Through this partnership, these organizations safely and effectively recycle non-hazardous, sterile, plastic packaging and nonwoven fabric from the hospital’s surgical suite, pharmaceutical, laboratory, and warehouse. This effort diverts around 500 pounds, or 350 bags, of clean, used healthcare plastics – from protective surgical tool packaging to unused nonwoven surgical cloths and gowns – from landfill per week.

Development of this circular initiative was spurred by Madyson Partenheimer, a Commercial Sustainability Manager at Berry Global and former healthcare worker with a passion for recycling who recognized an untapped opportunity to drive collective change. Madyson has been involved in all aspects of this effort, including educating and engaging hospital personnel and inspiring excitement for and confidence in the program amongst staff and the wider Deaconess community.

Personal Passions Driving Positive Change: More Recycling, More Reducing & More Reusing.

Circularity partnership project with Berry Global - Madyson Partenheimer - Berry Global "The need for plastic in a circular economy will remain constant, but efforts focused on how we can evolve the plastic substrate to be optimal for a sustainable future are crucial. I see this successful evolution through more reducing-reducing our use of virgin materials, reducing landfill waste, and reducing energy consumption-and I am confident that collaboration amongst value chain leaders and leveraging our unique resources can create this trusted pathway towards circularity.”

Madyson Partenheimer, Commercial Sustainability Manager, Berry Global

Circularity partnership project with Berry Global - Mindy Carlton - Deaconess "I am passionate about recycling because I'd like to positively impact the environment for our community. It has been eye-opening to learn about advanced recycling and how much waste can be recycled and reused in an infinite loop. I am excited to help navigate advanced recycling in healthcare!”

Mindy Carlton, Surgery Business Manager, Deaconess Health System

Circularity partnership project with Berry Global - Carla, Toth - Nexus “When we understand the inherent value of plastic, we see it as a resource to be used again and again. That shared belief incentivizes investment in innovative technologies which drive more recycling, creating a flywheel effect that can change the trajectory of plastics in the environment.”

Carla Toth, Senior Vice President Business Development, Nexus Circular

Circularity partnership project with Berry Global - Jordan Coleman - EPS “Our vision at EPS is to protect our environment utilizing systematic approaches of circular repackaging programs as well as many renewable feedstock programs to ensure healthier communities. I want more reusing to continue our current growth of carbon offsets and nonrenewable resources!”

Jordan Coleman, Operations Supervisor, Evansville Packaging Supply

Achieving More Together

Diverts around 500 pounds, or 350 bags of clean, used healthcare plastics from landfill per week
Increases the amount of recycled content to be used in customer products
Scales advanced recycling technology to capture and reuse plastics that currently go unrecycled
Increases sustainability education in the local community and healthcare market

News & Insights

Berry Receives Gold Award for Pet Food Packaging Made with Certified-Circular Plastic

A new pet food flexible packaging portfolio from Berry Global and Peel Plastics Products containing certified-circular plastic has received a Gold Award for Sustainability in the 2024 Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards from the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA).

Spotlight: Customer Collaboration is Key to Bringing Circular Solutions to Market Faster

Berry Global partnered with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. to improve the recyclability of food packaging with MXD6, a high-performance barrier solution for extruded articles, such as thermoformed items and extruded plastic tubes and bottles. The MXD6 barrier is recyclable up to 12% and received Critical Guidance recognition from the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR), validating its compatibility with the Polypropylene (PP) recycling stream. Using MXD6 helps eliminate the performance and compatibility limitations of Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH), including limited recyclability and reprocessing issues that cause degradation and contamination, and offers an alternative during material shortages.

Berry Hosts Its Annual Earth Day Event and Supports Efforts to End Plastic Waste

In honor of Earth Day, we are hosting our annual community event at Berry Global’s headquarters in Evansville, IN. We have been celebrating Earth Day with this event for more than 30 years, giving students tours of our company’s largest manufacturing facility to offer an up-close look at how we are giving plastics multiple lives. Tours for more than 800 elementary students from across the local community include educational presentations and activities from Berry team members and our community partners, helping students understand the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling in their daily lives.

Berry Global Again Recognized by CDP for Climate Leadership and Supplier Engagement

Global packaging leader Berry Global Group, Inc. has again earned prestigious Climate Change and Supplier Engagement “A-” ratings from global sustainability disclosure non-profit, CDP. The company's prioritization of climate action and supply chain transparency – above both global and North American regional averages – places it among the top 18% and 15%, respectively, of plastic product manufacturers to reach the “Leadership” band. Calculated based on environmental disclosure and performance, CDP ratings underscore Berry’s commitment to working with its suppliers to achieve net-zero emissions across its global operations and value chain by 2050.

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