Johnson & Johnson MedTech launches aluminum recycling project in Swiss Medical Network hospitals

“Sustainable today, a healthy tomorrow”

Johnson & Johnson is committed to reducing waste in hospitals and has developed a process to give aluminum a second lease of life. 16 clinics within the Swiss Medical Network have already started recycling the suture aluminum foils used in their operating rooms, saving the equivalent of 4,400 kg CO2 each year. The process was created collaboratively within only a few months and, after positive feedback from the clinics, is now ready to be scaled up.

Johnson & Johnson is committed to a healthy tomorrow by acting on the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. That’s why Johnson & Johnson MedTech has launched an initiative to reduce aluminum waste in hospitals. As its strategic partner, the Group Swiss Medical Network is piloting the recycling initiative in its clinics and is benefiting from this across Switzerland.

An efficient workflow reduces the carbon footprint
Aluminum can be recycled time and again without its quality suffering – and by doing so, this uses up to 95% less energy compared to extracting its primary raw materials. Based on this observation, Johnson & Johnson MedTech created a recycling workflow for its aluminum suture foils: Dedicated waste bins are made available in operating rooms to collect the foils, and once they are full, their contents are transported by Innight. This lean process leverages pre-existing transportation flows and doesn’t generate additional emissions. “We believe that no resource should be thrown away. That’s why we will stop at nothing to reduce waste and give materials a second life,” confirms Dominique Sartori, Sustainability Chief Officer at Swiss Medical Network.

Today’s collaboration paves the way for measurable impact
Since June, 16 clinics have joined the initiative and started recycling the suture aluminum foils used in their operating rooms. The initial feedback from participating clinics is that the process is easy to implement and that motivation is high since tangible results are visible quickly.

We forecast that this process will collect to 132,000 foils per year, which represents 240 kg of aluminum. Thus, the equivalent of 4,400 kg CO2 will be saved – or the amount of emissions released by driving 24,000 kilometers.

As Sarah Müller, Country Lead Medical Devices Switzerland, emphasizes: “Collaboration and co-creation with strategic partners such as Swiss Medical Network is key to advancing and making a measurable impact. Together, we can bring new solutions to the market quickly, learn and make improvements, while continuously increasing our positive impact. The aluminum recycling program demonstrates the power of collaboration for a more sustainable future. It only took a few months to go from the idea to execution – and now we are ready to scale it up.”

We are convinced that this is just the beginning of our journey to reduce material waste in hospitals and we invite everyone who shares our vision to participate in this and further pioneering projects. Let’s collaborate today for a sustainable future.