Recycling (PPE and other hard to recycle products in a medical setting)

Every day across Canada, millions of pieces of personal protective equipment are used to keep people safe in hospitals, laboratories, construction sites, and manufacturing facilities. While these products are essential for protecting workers and patients, they also create a growing challenge: what happens to them after they are used? At **Vitacore Industries**, a Canadian manufacturer of PPE, we believe responsibility doesn’t end when a product leaves the factory. It extends through the entire lifecycle of that product. Through our partnership with **Planet Impact**, we’ve been working to build practical, scalable solutions that give used and expired PPE a second life rather than sending it to landfill. In this talk, I’ll share how we’ve been developing circular recycling programs for PPE and safety equipment, working with healthcare systems, governments, and industry partners across Canada. I’ll walk through the challenges of collecting and processing these materials, the innovation required to recycle them responsibly, and the opportunities that exist when manufacturers take an active role in the circular economy. Ultimately, this is about rethinking waste—not as an endpoint, but as a resource—and demonstrating how Canadian manufacturing and sustainability leadership can work together to build a more resilient and responsible supply chain.

Keith Nicoll is the Sales & Business Development Director at Vitacore Industries, a Canadian manufacturer of personal protective equipment and leader in circular PPE recycling solutions. He plays a key role in expanding Vitacore’s national partnerships across healthcare, government, and industry, helping organizations strengthen domestic supply chains while advancing sustainability initiatives. Keith has been instrumental in the development and growth of Vitacore and Planet Impact’s PPE recycling programs, which divert post-consumer and expired personal protective equipment from landfills and transform it into new materials. These programs are currently supporting major healthcare systems and organizations across Canada, including partnerships with provincial health authorities, government agencies, and national organizations seeking responsible end-of-life solutions for PPE and safety products. With experience spanning both environmental conservation and manufacturing, including work with Ocean Wise, Keith brings a unique perspective to the intersection of sustainability, supply chain resilience, and Canadian innovation. His work focuses on building practical circular economy solutions that help healthcare systems and industry reduce waste while maintaining the highest standards of safety and reliability.