Scottish Water has begun using an on-site disinfection and shredding technology that could allow potentially contaminated single-use laboratory plastics to be recycled instead of being autoclaved and sent to landfill or incineration.
The utility has adopted Envetec Sustainable Technologies’ GENERATIONS system to process plastic waste generated by its laboratory operations. Scottish Water and Envetec describe the deployment as the first use of the technology by a water utility worldwide.
Scottish Water carries out around three million analytical tests each year at laboratories in Edinburgh, Inverness and elsewhere in Scotland, generating substantial quantities of single-use plastics including sample bottles, petri dishes and pipette tips.
While uncontaminated sample bottles were already recycled, plastics potentially contaminated with microbiological waste have traditionally required autoclaving before being sent to landfill or incineration.
GENERATIONS instead uses simultaneous chemical disinfection and shredding to treat selected laboratory plastics on site, producing material that can subsequently enter a recycling pathway. Scottish Water said this could reduce its reliance on autoclaving while lowering associated water and energy use and carbon emissions.
Since January, its Scientific Services team has processed approximately 72,000 sample bottles using the system. The technology is now being extended to microbiological plastic waste, including petri dishes and pipette tips.
Elise Cartmel, General Manager for Net Zero at Scottish Water, said: “We carry out millions of tests in our labs every year to protect public health and the environment, and that relies on single-use plastics.
“We’re really pleased to be working with Envetec to lead the way with this innovative technology. It is allowing us to handle these waste streams in a more environmentally friendly way and reducing what goes to landfill or incineration, while maintaining the high standards our customers expect.”
Scottish Water said the system also reduces manual handling and the number of plastic recycling skip collections required.
Karen Rae, Senior Project Manager for Scottish Water’s Scientific Services, said the technology provided a more efficient means of handling high volumes of plastics already suitable for recycling, while opening a recycling route for other material.
“GENERATIONS gives us a more efficient way to deal with high volumes of plastic and, importantly, enables us to recycle waste streams that could not previously be recycled because of potential microbiological contamination,” she said.
“It also frees up valuable staff time by reducing manual handling, uses less water than traditional treatment routes and helps cut carbon by reducing reliance on autoclaving and the number of plastic recycling skip uplifts needed.”
The system records information including waste volumes, material and polymer types, laboratory sources and downstream destinations. It also provides indicative emissions savings.
Scottish Water said it is using the data to improve waste reporting and traceability and assess whether the approach could be extended to additional laboratory waste streams.
Envetec, which is based in County Tipperary, develops technology for treating and recovering laboratory plastic waste. Chief Executive Malcolm Bell said the Scottish Water deployment demonstrated how the end-of-life treatment of plastics required for laboratory safety and testing could be changed.
“These materials are often necessary for safety, accuracy, and compliance, yet their end-of-life can be transformed. GENERATIONS is helping laboratories treat selected waste streams on site, capture useful operational data, and support meaningful material recovery.”
