Also launches PPE recycling campaign for single-use N95 respirators and surgical masks
According to the federal government, approximately 63,000 tonnes of COVID-19 related PPE could end up as waste. Recognizing this environmental impact, Surrey-based start-up Eternity Medical Equipment has partnered with Ontario’s LifeCycle Revive to help reclaim and recycle respirators and masks to create a sustainable self-sustaining PPE supply chain.
Eternity Medical is setting up a collections box at its headquarters, located at 19099 25 Ave #103 in Surrey, British Columbia, and will accept all N95-equivalent respirators and surgical masks. Once boxes are filled, they will be shipped to LifeCycle Revive.
Most N95-equivalent respirators, including Eternity Medical’s own ECAN95, and surgical masks are made of polypropylene, a non-woven textile. LifeCycle Revive will now reprocess polypropylene medical waste and launch a spunbond nonwoven textile line that will be used in Canadian-made PPE, such as disposable isolation gowns and injection-molded items used in healthcare.
“There is so much needless waste created, and much of the problem is the bureaucracy behind it all,” said Andy Straisfeld, partner at LifeCycle Revive. “There is a lot of potential with recycling and repurposing PPE. It’s a circular economy! We’ve been actively trying to recruit Canadian companies who make PPE to our cause, and that’s how we found Eternity. We are thrilled to have them onboard.”
Eternity Medical’s own ECAN95 is the first Canadian-made N95-equivalent respirator to receive CSA certification. It is Health Canada approved. The ECAN95 is also pending final NIOSH approval, and has Eternity NIOSH manufacturer code EME.
