Sask. Health Authority looking to recycle ‘a large amount’ of expired PPE

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is trying to find someone to recycle what it described as “a large amount” of expired personal protective equipment (PPE) from the COVID-19 pandemic response.

The SHA declined to give an exact number because the tender process is ongoing, but the authority said the gloves, face shields, gowns and N95 masks represent about 2.8 per cent of the total PPE used during the three years of its pandemic response.

With the length and severity of the pandemic response, and the large donations of pieces of PPE that were publicized, that 2.8 per cent likely represents thousands of pieces of PPE on their way to being recycled.

The authority said the PPE didn’t cost anything; it was provided for free by the federal government.

“Due to extreme pressure for supplies at the time, some of the PPE received, although sent with the best of intentions, either did not meet SHA standards or was short dated and expired before it could be used,” a statement from the health authority read.

The SHA said it always follows the manufacturers’ suggested useful life and expiry dates on PPE as, in many cases, the product can break down over time and the sterility of packaging has a limited shelf life.

Last year, the health authority also put out a tender to get rid of 350,000 litres of expired hand sanitizer that it got from the federal government.