Recycling incontinence aids saves dollars

New recycling company Relivit is a “great believer that everything is a resource and should go to the right place”.

Relivit managing director, Gareth Williamson, spoke to DPS News about the company’s latest initiative to work closely with aged care facilities to encourage the recycling of incontinence pads.

“Incontinence is an issue that needs to be managed, and over the next six months we will negotiate contracts with aged care facilities to secure their waste, helping them to reduce waste disposal costs along the way,” Mr Williamson says, adding it will also improve environmental outcomes in helping to look after elderly people, whether in high or low care.

Mr Williamson, who claims it is better to “recover resources than have them lost”, recently began discussions with aged care facilities, and says the key aim is to set up a plant in Sydney which can process about 25,000 tonnes of waste a year.

“The focus is first with Sydney aged care providers after waste audits are telling us incontinence aids make up more than 60% of their waste stream,” he says, adding providers were seeing waste disposal costs increase by more than 10% a year.

Recycling solutions have emerged in Australia, UK and New Zealand to divert waste from landfill. However, while the problem has been acknowledged, Mr Williamson claims the magnitude is “poorly understood”.

Attempting to solve the problem, Relivit secured funding and support from SCA Hygiene Australasia to conduct a national audit of Absorbent Hygiene Product (AHP) waste, which includes disposable nappies, continence aids and feminine hygiene items.

The main outcome will be an online tool where managers can prepare their own AHP waste estimates in order to make informed decisions when planning for new waste management solutions.

Relivit will source further funding and resources from other companies and federal, state and local government agencies to commission the audit in early 2012, with the goal of releasing the project outcomes by August next year.

With the objectives of reducing costs and improving environmental outcomes, Relivit now holds the licence for a suitable recycling technology and will open its first plan in Sydney in 2013.

Any aged care facility or organisation wishing to participate in the project can contact Relivit managing director, Gareth Williams on garethw@relivit.com.au.