WellSpan's York (Pa.) Hospital has partnered to turn its plastic waste into concrete, which it will use on its next expansion, ABC affiliate WHTM reported April 19.
The hospital produced about 30 pounds of waste per hospital bed per day, WellSpan Health president and CEO Roxanna Gapstur, PhD, RN, told WHTM. To reduce waste, the hospital has partnered with the Center for Regenerative Design and Collaboration to turn its plastic waste into concrete.
Plastic waste arrives at CRDC's facility, where it is shredded and granulated. It's then mixed with ash and other minerals before being melted down and formed into lava rock-looking blocks called hybrid mineral polymer. Those blocks are then granulated into a sand-like material, which can be added to concrete and used in other construction materials.
"We would be happy to give CRDC as much plastic as they can possibly handle," Dr. Gapstur said in the report. She added, the process comes full circle.
The final sand product will be used to build the expansion at WellSpan York Hospital.