alexwasnotavailable

So, you have an excellent question here. The biopharm industry a number of years ago switched over to using large bioreactor bags and fittings and tubing in their entire process, instead of cleaning the stainless steel every single time and re-certifying it clean. This was in an effort to speed up operations.

To answer your question, what happens to their single use stuff after every batch change-over or product change is that it gets thrown out in their Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) bin, as biohazardous. Most of these companies have a (rather expensive) contract with companies like Stericycle who pickup and haul away their waste for processing and landfill. The problem is that since it has to be sterilized, it is often incinerated. It is never recycled.

There are huge challenges to recycling it, because the fittings and tubing that are all attached to the bioreactor bags is all of different types of plastics, fused together. It would all have to be separated from each other manually by cutting them off with scissors. Otherwise, it can't be recycled because of the mixed plastic problem. So it's all shredded and burned.

The industry has only seen a few attempts at making the process more sustainable. One through an arrangement with Millipore and Triumvirate to make railroad ties and decking. But my understanding is that this was only an experiment, a pilot program, and it was too time intensive and inefficient to do on a large scale. I actually work for a company who offers a pressurized system that shreds and steam sterilizes single-use pharma waste, and we are hoping that it will lead to the ability to recycle the shredded plastics once the process is complete. Ideally though before processing, biopharm companies would cut off some of the bags and fittings so that the end result is easier to recycle.

This is all a huge industry problem that nobody has an answer for just yet.

http://www.biopharminternational.com/sustainability-disposal-single-use-systems

Check this out, here’s what they look like: https://www.genengnews.com/magazine/288/markets-expand-for-single-use-bioreactors/

All I’m going to say is, you should do a Google search for “single-use bioprocessing” if you want to see one of the largest users of single use plastics. Biopharmaceutical companies.

Edit: ok, I added lots more detail in comment thread below.

Yes I have seen some of those same numbers and I agree. I do think the new single use plastic process needs to be more sustainable. It’s still real wasteful.

Yikes that’s a lot of packaging! The line and the saline bag and fittings you’re referring to are extremely similar to what I’m referring to in the biopharm industry, just a lot smaller in scale. Think of a saline bag the size of a car!

Check this out, here’s what they look like: https://www.genengnews.com/magazine/288/markets-expand-for-single-use-bioreactors/

Thanks!