The need for Recycling and Circular Economy is more significant than ever

Health-care actions safeguard and restore health, as well as save lives. But what about the waste and byproducts that they produce?

Approximately 85% of the waste created by healthcare operations is ordinary, non-hazardous waste equivalent to household waste. The remaining 15% is hazardous stuff, which might be infectious, toxic, or radioactive.

However, in low-income areas, healthcare waste is sometimes not divided into hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, resulting in a substantially greater precise quantity of hazardous waste.

Why is recycling needed?

Many manufacturers rely heavily on disposable gadgets. This has various benefits for them:

• They spare themselves the time and effort of designing the equipment expressly for recycling or refurbishing.
• Risks associated with material refurbishing and re-use are automatically handled.
• The ongoing selling of new devices ensures sales income.
• Disposable tools are exempt from the specific regulatory restrictions that apply to reusable (surgical) equipment.

If untreated health care wastes are disposed of in landfills, they can contaminate drinking, surface, and ground waterways. The incineration of heavy metals or products with high metal content (particularly lead, mercury, and cadmium) can spread harmful metals in the environment.

There are comprehensive benefits of recovering, recycling and refurbishing radiology equipment.

Blue Star E&E never undervalues the significance and impact of recycling and recovering equipment. There are both economic and environmental reasons to keep refurbishing such equipment.

Disposing of radiological equipment is a massive undertaking by definition. Disposal is an avenue for exchanging equipment for health services and upgrading equipment; on the other end of the spectrum, smaller institutions who cannot afford to acquire new equipment have access to recovered and refurbished equipment that accomplishes the job they want it to. Because this equipment is still dose-efficient, everyone benefits.

It’s a win-win-win situation for everyone and means improved healthcare.

The importance of circular economy for radiology equipment

The ‘Circular Economy’ goal is to optimise the use of scarce natural resources to drive waste out of the ecosystem and extend the life of the equipment.

Refurbished medical imaging equipment contributes to the circular economy by extending the life of the equipment, making better use of resources, and reentering the business environment.

Who plays a part in the circular economy of radiology equipment?

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and independent service vendors (ISVs) play essential roles in delivering reconditioned equipment to every corner of the globe, assisting health care professionals in providing the best possible care to their patients.

Suppliers of components, industry associations, service providers, distributors, and resellers are among the other players. Despite an economic downturn, reconditioned equipment enables access to cutting-edge technology at a reduced capital cost, with the same return on investment as new equipment.

Reasons to buy refurbished/reconditioned equipment

• Cost-effective alternative to new machines
• Assuring superior clinical performance
• Limiting high-end imaging equipment to niche applications
• Improving the installed equipment’s age profile
• Reducing the installed equipment’s obsolescence
• Assuring the best possible care and safety for patients.

Environmental benefits of buying refurbished equipment

• Fewer landfills
• Reuse of components
• Equipment life extension
• Reduced carbon footprint
• Taking use of the circular economy’s possibilities.

Takeaway

Refurbished medical imaging equipment offers financially challenged end users an excellent chance to obtain high-quality imaging equipment at a cheaper cost. Refurbished equipment is readily accepted in established markets. You can trust value-added solution provider such as Blue Star E&E to deliver consistently high-quality refurbished medical imaging systems.