Environmental Sustainability at Mar-Med
We at Mar-Med take pride in our popular medical devices, but we put effort into reducing our footprint because we also take pride in Michigan’s environment. As a manufacturer of medical devices, we generate waste. This waste comes in many forms, whether just the packaging from microwavable lunches, office paper, or the abundant streams of label backing from every label we affix to our devices (captured below). We go to great lengths to sort and separate every bit of this waste for more sustainable disposal and even reuse.
Recycling:
Around Mar-Med you’ll notice a variety of waste receptacles to separate recyclables. Fortunately the City of Grand Rapids offers a free recycling service which we take advantage of for our plastic, metals, and glass.
Compost:
Medical devices require labels and if the label isn’t printed directly on the pouch, it’s probably a sticker. We use sticker labels and generate abundant streams of label backing as a by-product. We couldn’t stomach the idea of sending this wax paper to the landfill, so we work with Organicycle in Grand Rapids (the right bin in the image below) to provide weekly curbside composting service for disposing our label backing and other organic waste, like food, paper, cardboard and more.
Reuse:
Mar-Med tries to re-use materials as much as practical. We re-use lots of scrap paper for our routine office operations. Receiving goods also provides boxes for us to ship your products in. Don’t be surprised if we re-used an amazon box or other brand for our outer shipping containers. Your Mar-Med products will still be appropriately packaged and labeled inside.
