The Goal

The Healthcare Sector uses a large amount of PPE daily – it is a need keeping both staff and patients safe. But we have a challenge when disposing of both used and unused surplus it creates a large amount of waste having a very negative impact on our climate print.

During the pandemic, needles to say, PPE was key in fighting the pandemic. That means that the Healthcare sector needs to find a sustainable way of having the right supply as well as disposing of PPEs for both daily purpose as well as potential future pandemics or the like.

The Challenge

How might expired PPE be used/come in use in a different, purposeful way keeping sustainability in mind?

Past the expiration date, it cannot be used clinically, and there may be legal complications regarding reselling expired products.

Challenge Context

To encompass the varying demand for PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic, the State gave the Capital Region of Denmark the task to buy and stock PPE for the whole country. We now have a surplus of PPE.

Regions and municipals in the country can now decide for themselves how to reduce their capacity of PPE in the regional warehouses. It happens in one of more of the follow ways:

• Usage/consumption
• Extending the
• Reselling
• Donation
• Eliminate

Past the expiration date, it cannot be used clinically, and there may be legal complications regarding reselling expired products.

The Capital Region of Denmark decides which of these methods to use, as long as it is within legal limits. The Capital Region of Denmark has already donated what has been possible in 2022.

There is a political incentive to avoid elimination, and elimination would be the most wasteful option regarding environmental and economical perspectives.

The amount of PPE is approximately 9.300 pallets, which is approximately 88 million pieces of PPE.

	Pallets	Total sum pieces
Disinfect, Hands Disinfect, Surface	2.322 1.199	3.039.776 12.252.201
Gloves, exploration	1	466.000
Lab coat, protection	1.886	710.450
Facemask, Type 1	238	9.356.000
Facemask, Type 2 Facemask, respiratory protection	2.132 792	52.808.249 6.790.304
Face visor	740	2.963.000
Total sum	9.310	88.385.980

Værnemiddelkategori	Materiale
Desinfektionsmiddel hænder Disinfect, Hands	Ethanol
Desinfektionsmiddel overflader Disinfect, Surface	Ethanol
Handske Gloves, exploration	Nitril, Latex
Kittel Lab coat, protection	Polypropylene og Polyethylene
Åndedrætsværn (FFP2, FFP3) Respiratory protection	Outer cover stock: Polypropylene (spun bond) Filter media 1 and 2: Polypropylene (melt blown) Inner cover stock: Polyester (spun bond), Titanium Dioxide and Color Nose clip: Aluminium Elastic band: Polyurethane Binding and cover tapes: Polyester, Cellulose regenerated, pulp cellulose, Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Polyester copolymer, Titanium Dioxide Ink for print on respirator: Alkyl diol, Substituted naphalensulfonate salt #9, Carbon black and Water
Mundbind (Type I, Type IIR) Face mask	Outer cover stock: Polypropylene (SPB) og Masterbatch Filter media: Polypropylene (melt blown) Inner cover stock: Polyethylene og Polyester (thermal bonded) Overtape: Polypropylene (SPB) and Masterbatch Nose clip: Polyethylene (LDPE) covered Carbon steel rod Ear loop elastics: Polyester and Polyurethane
Visir Face visor	Polyethylen terephtalate (shield) Polyurethane (foam padding) Polyester/Rubber (headband)

Succes Criteria

1. The solution will include a big amount of the expired PPE
2. The solution is more sustainable than elimination, environmentally and economically
3. As it is a recurring problem, we need to be able to use this solution again and again
4. The solution we need is primarily for expired unused PPE, but it’s a big plus if the solution can encompass used PPE too.