SimpleComply is proud to have been invited to join EnCiMed and is now formally participating as an industrial partner in the consortium. Together with TNO and partners from healthcare, pharmaceuticals, materials science, decontamination and recycling, we are working towards an ambitious goal: bringing medical and pharmaceutical plastics safely back into a circular value chain.
From a linear waste stream to a circular resource
EnCiMed stands for Enabling Circularity in Medical and Pharmaceutical Plastics. The project focuses on developing a scalable approach to recycling single-use medical and pharmaceutical plastics. It connects three key challenges: effective decontamination, high-quality sorting and recycling, and a clear regulatory framework for the safe reuse of materials.
The project has been set up within the public-private innovation programme of Health~Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, and is planned to run for 24 months from September 2026 through August 2028. TNO acts as project coordinator.
SimpleComply’s contribution
SimpleComply contributes practical expertise in medical waste decontamination, process validation and compliance. Within the decontamination work package, we provide knowledge and testing capacity to investigate and optimise treatment methods, including microwave-based inactivation. A central question is how medical waste can be made safe to handle while preserving the quality of plastics as much as possible for subsequent sorting and recycling.
SimpleComply also contributes to the regulatory work package. This includes exploring criteria for demonstrating when decontaminated medical waste can be considered safe to handle, as well as mapping the compliance and permitting routes needed to make circular applications practically scalable.
Collaboration as an accelerator
The strength of EnCiMed lies in its combination of disciplines. Circularity in healthcare cannot be achieved through a single technology. The value chain runs from waste streams and safe decontamination through sorting and material preservation to recycling, regulation and, ultimately, new applications for recycled resources.
For SimpleComply, participation in this consortium is therefore more than a research project. It is an opportunity to connect our operational experience in healthcare waste management with scientific research and industrial expertise, contributing to solutions that are both safe and circular.
Proud to contribute to the next step
Our formal participation in EnCiMed aligns directly with our ambition to help healthcare organisations manage medical waste streams in a demonstrably controlled, safe and increasingly sustainable way. We are proud that SimpleComply was invited to join the consortium and look forward to developing practical knowledge, validation approaches and applicable solutions together with the other partners.
Learn more about our approach to healthcare waste management or explore our references and independent evidence.
