Plastic Free July and Beyond! ‘Turn the Tide, one choice at a time’
Each year we look forward to the Plastic Free Challenge –a mission-critical initiative to bring awareness together with action.
This year’s Plastic Free July challenge, ‘Turn the Tide, one choice at a time’ perfectly suits our mission at NewGen Surgical to green healthcare one product at a time! We celebrate with our customers who are leading the way in healthcare to end single-use plastic in the Operating Room with our plant-basedproducts.
“Plastic Free July is a key initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation with a vision of seeing a world free of plastic waste. From humble beginnings in 2011, the award-winning Plastic Free July campaign is the result of years of hard work. It was started by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz (the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation) and a small team in local government in Western Australia and is now one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world.
From governments and brands committing to design for a circular economy to individuals making choices in their daily lives, we know this groundswell of action is driving regulation and legislation at a global level.“ 1
NewGen Surgical products are designed for the circular economy, using Smart Sustainable Design™ that considers the front-end inputs using waste from one industry and upcycling that into a clinical product for the Operating Room and healthcare. One the waste end, there is no away when it comes to plastic. Every piece of plastic matters and can be replaced with a more sustainable option.
The mission of the Plastic Free Foundation is guided and informed by core values that are so closely aligned with our founding mission at NewGen Surgical. :
- Honesty and integrity
- Inclusivity of people, ideas, visions and approaches
- A focus on providing solutions
- Authenticity and collaboration
- The belief that small changes add up to a big difference
Changing one product at one healthcare system with a biodegradable option can lead to a significant cumulative impact – year after year. Upcycling results in a reduction of energy usage, air pollution, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions – and reduces plastic production and disposal. This unique alternative resource can biodegrade2, minimizing the environmental and human health impacts throughout the product’s lifecycle.
The environmental impact of heath care is significant with plastics making up 85% of all medical equipment3 and contributing a carbon footprint of 2 gigatons CO2e. One million tons of single use plastic waste is generated in the US healthcare system each year. 4
With plastic set to outpace coal as a driver of climate change by 2030 5 what we are doing at NewGen Surgical will offer hospitals healthier product solutions for both the patient and the environment which in fact go hand in hand. By exercising climate-smart purchasing the healthcare sector has the potential and the responsibility to eliminate tons of plastic from the supply chain resulting in a significant reduction of plastic in the waste stream and the environment. This is imperative, as plastic has not only been found at our highest peaks and lowest depths of the ocean, but it is also now found in human bodies, babies’ placenta, and umbilical cords and each one of us is eating, swallowing, or breathing in about 2000 tiny pieces each week. 6
Consider the connections of health and plastic:
- 148 chemicals are present in plastic or used in manufacturing that have been identified as hazardous to human health and the environment.7
- Plastic production contributes to toxic air pollution; air pollution is attributed to 7 million premature deaths; it’s one of the biggest environmental threats to human health. 8
Plastic production plants are in the most at risk and vulnerable communities already suffering from inadequate access to healthcare and low income.
Let’s celebrate the achievements made in single-use plastic reduction this past month. Plastic Free July 2022 has been a great success and serves as a reminder that we should all aim to eliminate plastic and set plastic reduction goals every day of the year.
NewGen Surgical eliminated nearly 9,000 pounds (over 4 tons) of single-use plastic and over 7,000 kg of CO2e with our plant-based medical devices in July. These numbers are FOUR times the reduction of plastic we achieved one year ago in July 2021! NewGen Surgical is honored to be a part of this annual collaboration in single-use plastic reduction to inspire individuals and healthcare systems to end plastic use in and outside of the O.R. as we aim to achieve larger plastic reduction goals each year.
Millions of people across the globe take part every year in Plastic Free July, with many committing to reducing plastic pollution far beyond the month of July. NewGen Surgical’s number not only quadrupled for the one month of July to that of last July but cumulatively we have eliminated over 60 tons of plastic with simple like-for like product substitutions.
Resources:
1 The Plastic Free July Initiative
2 Depending on disposal conditions
3 Harvard Kennedy School
4 HPRC
5 Healthcare Climate Footprint HCWH
6 University of New Castle /Australia
7 Endocrine Society
8 WHO – World Health Organization