A pilot that started back in February at select healthcare facilities in the Metro Vancouver area in and shortly after expanded to Saskatoon’s City Hospital to recycle PPE such as face masks and respirators is coming to an end.

The pilot is in collaboration with Vitacore Industries, a PPE company based out of BC.

Once the pilot comes to a close at the end of May, a review will be conducted to see if the first-of-its-kind recycling program will be sustainable at other Saskatchewan Health Authrority facilities.

That’s from Kerri Cryderman, Executive Director of Environmental Services with the SHA.

She says if the program does continue on, it will likely be in the province’s more urban centres.

“It’s dependent on the quantity cause that’s where it would make the most sense. So if we were to move forward, it would make sense in our highly concentrated urban environments just because of the way we need to collect and transportation and there needs to be flow that’s going on.”

The masks are then recycled and turned into materials such as concrete and textiles.

To date, the pilot has collected 8.8 million masks and respirators.

Cryderman says they’re also looking at recycling options when it comes to other PPE such as gloves and gowns.

“We’re looking at the potential options. Like again, there’s gloves, face shields, gowns, hairnets, those kinds of things that could be you know, recycled. So those are some options. I think we’re looking at recycling in general. What are the other opportunities and innovative opportunities in our health care setting in terms of waste management that might be a good option as well in terms of that reduction.”

Since starting, the program has diverted 54,000 masks from ending up at the landfill in Saskatoon.