Our fourth ESCH-R Podcast! Circular waste streams? Is that possible? In dialogue with PreZero. Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities in transitioning healthcare towards a more circular future!

On September 17, Nicole Hunfeld (ESCH-R Principal Investigator) joined Arthur Haag, Freek Bakker, and the PhD researchers from ESCH-R for an inspiring visit to PreZero Nederland in Zwolle.

In this podcast episode, Nicole Hunfeld sits down with Arthur Haag (Sectormanager Cure, Care & Education) and Freek Bakker (Director Value Chain Paper & Plastics) from PreZero to discuss how hospitals and waste processors can work together to make healthcare truly circular.

In this episode, we discuss turning medical waste into valuable raw materials, how AI improves sorting and recycling efficiency, the story of “blue wrap” becoming new hospital furniture and we share simple tips we can all apply to sort our waste better at home:

• Don’t mix materials: separate plastic, paper, and metal
• Empty your packaging before recycling
• Don’t stuff waste into other containers (“no stuffing!”)

Arthur Haag: “Together, we can accelerate innovation, share knowledge, and scale circular solutions across hospitals. It’s all about collaboration.”

And, keeping the tradition ongoing with our ESCH-R podcast, PreZero Nederland passes on a question to our next guest, Mark Lazeroms from Medtronic: “How can Medtronic, as a global leader in medical technology, contribute to a circular healthcare chain – not only by innovating products, but by rethinking the entire lifecycle from design to recycling?”

Tune in to discover how circular healthcare is becoming reality, from manufacturers to hospitals to waste processors!

Each episode will be in Dutch with some interviews in English.

Music copyright: Mr. Gerald

Tune in and discover how we can work together towards a circular future for healthcare!