Baxter announces the completion of the first phase of its IV bag recycling program pilot. Launched in conjunction with Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, more than six tons (or 12,000 pounds) of PVC IV bag waste has been successfully diverted from landfills to be recycled for a useful second life. Unlike other medical equipment products such as syringes and needles, which have established post-use collection methods, standard practice for non-hazardous IV bag removal includes draining residual fluid and disposing as waste that ultimately ends up in a landfill. Through this pilot program, stakeholders from several Northwestern Memorial Hospital departments helped develop a new process that enables the incorporation of material separation for recycling into nursing workflow while also managing space constraints common to hospital settings. With dedicated third-party logistics and recycling partners, collected IV bags are transported and inspected to ultimately be recycled into products such as industrial floor mats and protective edging for docks and landscaping.