Covestro and Allmed partner to recycle used artificial kidney filters
Covestro and Allmed, an international blood purification specialist, partner in pioneering recycling used artificial kidney filters, exploring the potential to recover polycarbonate from medical devices for use in new materials with recycled content.
Blood purification device.
(From left to right) Thomas Hennig, Head of Sales & Market Development Engineering Plastics HealthCare EMEA of Covestro, Lily Wang, Head of the Business Entity Engineering Plastics of Covestro, Ahmed Sorour, CEO of Allmed Group, and Ulrike Luetzow, Market Development Manager HealthCare EMEA, Covestro.
The collaboration seeks to develop a circular economy model for medical devices by proving both technical feasibility and economic viability while navigating the complex regulatory landscape of medical waste management.
“Blood purification devices are essential for life-saving treatments but also require significant resources. Our ambition is to show that high medical performance and ecological responsibility can go hand in hand,” explained Ahmed Sorour, Chief Executive Officer at Allmed.
In cooperation with additional partners in the United Kingdom – including Allmed’s distribution partner Kimal, a leading regional hospital trust and a specialized recycler – Allmed and Covestro are now preparing for their first recycling trials.
“The circular economy in healthcare is still emerging – but it holds tremendous potential. With this feasibility study, we want to demonstrate that even complex applications like artificial kidney filters can be circular and become a valuable source of high-quality polycarbonate recyclate instead of being incinerated or sent to landfill,” said Lily Wang, Global Head of Engineering Plastics at Covestro.
