Brightmark and Lewis Salvage surpassed recycling one million pounds of medical plastics, showcasing innovative technology, sustainability leadership, and healthcare waste solutions.
Brightmark LLC, a leader in circular innovation dedicated to reimagining waste, has announced a significant achievement in its collaboration with Lewis Salvage, an independent recycling firm based in Warsaw, Indiana. Together, the two companies have surpassed the milestone of recycling more than one million pounds of medical plastics, preventing large volumes of waste from being incinerated or sent to landfills. Warsaw is recognized globally for hosting the highest concentration of orthopedic design and manufacturing companies, making it an ideal hub for this initiative.
Bob Powell, Founder and CEO of Brightmark, emphasized the importance of this milestone, noting that it represents far more than just a number. “Recycling over one million pounds proves that advanced recycling technologies can directly address the healthcare sector’s plastic waste problem,” he said. Powell credited Brightmark’s proprietary Plastics Renewal® technology for this progress. The process enables the recycling of a broad spectrum of plastics, including many from healthcare settings that traditionally end up as waste. Since launching the program, Brightmark has steadily increased the volume of plastics recycled, offering a practical model for medical plastic recycling.
The demand for single-use plastics in healthcare continues to grow, driven largely by the need for sterile, disposable packaging and devices. This trend poses a considerable environmental challenge, as the U.S. healthcare sector alone generates nearly 14,000 tons of waste each day—about 25% of which is plastic. Unfortunately, an overwhelming 91% of these plastics are never recycled, ending up in landfills or polluting the environment. Against this backdrop, the Brightmark-Lewis Salvage milestone signals meaningful progress in addressing one of the sector’s most pressing sustainability concerns.
Since the inception of the partnership on July 30, 2024, Brightmark has dramatically expanded its recycling operations. Starting with 400,000 pounds of recovered plastics, the initiative has now exceeded one million pounds. Cary Lewis, Owner and CEO of Lewis Salvage, described the partnership as a turning point. “By working with Brightmark, we are transforming waste into valuable resources, cutting landfill dependency, and encouraging other businesses to engage in the circular economy,” he said. He also highlighted how Warsaw’s growing orthopedic manufacturing base is increasingly demanding sustainable, efficient recycling solutions.
Through Lewis Salvage’s Minimized Landfill Recycling Program, medical plastics from orthopedic implant and medical device manufacturers are collected and transported to Brightmark’s Circularity Center in Ashley, Indiana. Using its advanced Plastics Renewal® technology, Brightmark converts hard-to-recycle materials—including trays, films, Styrofoam, packaging materials, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW PE) machining scraps—into raw materials that can be repurposed into new circular products. What was once considered unrecyclable waste is now being transformed into valuable resources, closing the loop in plastic use.
This achievement builds on the 2024 launch of the Brightmark and Lewis Salvage partnership, which initially aimed to improve the recyclability of healthcare plastics in the Warsaw region. Since then, the collaboration has expanded its reach and effectiveness, successfully diverting increasingly larger amounts of medical plastic waste away from landfills and creating new pathways for sustainable product development.
The milestone of surpassing one million pounds not only validates the effectiveness of Brightmark’s technology but also demonstrates how innovation and collaboration can solve one of healthcare’s toughest sustainability challenges.
