Vadnais Heights nonprofit takes on hospital plastic waste recycling
From the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS:
Before a patient rolls into the operating room for surgery, the sterile instruments arrive on a tray covered in a spongy blue plastic known as "blue wrap." Hospitals go through tons of the plastic fabric every year, and up until a few years ago, all of it ended up in the landfill.
In 2009, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce created a pilot recycling effort, and this month, the chamber handed it over to Merrick Inc., a Vadnais Heights nonprofit. The organization will continue to collect, bale and sell the plastic to be manufactured into new products.