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Action in progress
AN OTHER SUCCESSFUL NETWORKING TABLE WITH FOCUS ON THE EUROPEAN PROJECT LIFE-MED MEDICAL EQUIPMENT DISCARDED
From November to December 2016, other three important meetings took place; these are an integral part and concretization of the 10 networking-table of consultation foreseen in the implementation actions B8. At the moment, 6 out of 10 networking-table have already successfully been realized.
The workshops aim to lay down the Guidelines for a more efficient circular economy of electro-medical equipment. The actors involved in the project and the Unions discussed in particular about management needs and legislative rules.
On November 10th, 2016 the project Life-MED was protagonist, again this year, at ECOMONDO during three important meetings. ECOMONDO represents an important technological platform for Green and Circular Economy. The participation of international counterparts allowed a discussion centered on topics concerning the benefits of circular economy and its future challenges. Other keywords of the event have been reusability and recyclability, the reuse of EEE and the recovery of critical raw material as well as sustainability, recycling and market analysis.
On December the 14th, 2016 CAUTO, Medicus Mundi Attrezzature and Legambiente presented an update of LifeMED project results to Regione Lombardia, DG Enviroment staff in order to ask them an active role in the definition of national criteria of the circular economy, especially referred to WEEE.
Finally on December 19th, 2016 the same partners met the Ministry of Environment staff, national observatory of WEEE, directly engaged in the definition of legislative decrees in relation to WEEE. In the same visit the partners met Mariachiara Gadda, parliamentary interested in circular economy.
Read more information on www.life-med-equipment.eu
LIFE MED CONFERENCE AT THE FACULTY OF MEDICAL ENGINEERING OF BUCHAREST
On the 24th November 2016, a conference was organized at the Faculty of Medical Engineering of Bucharest where 112 people attended, 80 of which being students in their last years of studies eager to learn more about the sector they are about to enter and the job opportunities they can expect as clinical engineers in Romania. Alongside the students also attended representatives from public and private hospitals, officials from the University and the Ministry of Health as well as managers from medical equipment producers, distributors and maintenance providers.
This was the perfect occasion for the Life MED project partners to present to local stakeholders this new integrated approach to reduce waste of medical equipment and promote medical solidarity in Europe and more specifically in Romania. CAUTO, MEMUA (Italia), UNIBS, LEGAMBIENTE and ATELIERE FARA FRONTIERE (Romania) presented the project but also the Romanian, the Italian and the European legal frame and challenges to make it possible. During the round table, the legitimate representatives debated about the status of medical equipment management system in Romania.
Public hospitals and NGOs, confirmed that there were large needs for equipment and that they were willing to help this project make it through the administrative difficulties and institutional slowness that the Romanian team encountered from its beginning. The head of the service in charge of medical equipment disposal at the Ministry of Health, present at the conference, declared to be very much in favor of this project, willing to sustain it.
PARTNERS MEET ON THE SPOT: WHERE THE PROJECT HAS ITS ACTUAL APPLICATION
On the 25th November 2016 a fundamental meeting took place in Bucharest: CAUTO, Legambiente Lombardia, Medicus Mundi Attrezzature and University of Brescia visited Ateliere Fara Frontiere’s laboratories in Romania. It represented a remarkable opportunity to understand on the spot, how the project is proceeding in Bucharest after two years, as the project started in 2014.
During the visit, all the partners took part to a seminar at the Facultatea de Inginerie Medicală in Bucharest about medical equipment’s lifecycle, meeting students and companies involved in the production of medical equipment.
The sustainability of hospital waste’s management will also be addressed soon through the analysis of the regulatory framework within a working table of consultation, composed of Italian institutional stakeholders dealing with these kind of issues (consortia, control authorities, government agencies in charge, sector trade associations).
State of progress
The life-MED project reached from its start important goals: after two years, 250 contacts with medical institutions, 65 institutions identified for benefiting of the donation of medical equipment, 170 electro-medical equipment revised, 110 electro-medical equipment revised, 70 spare parts disassembled, 100 tons of waste managed coming from medical institutions and 70 tons of waste avoided.
Best Practice
The cooperation between the technical partners involved in the Weeenmodels project, national and international LIFE projects representatives and WEEE management experts is now stronger thanks to the successful networking activity during the meeting in Genoa on the 3rd of November 2016.
The international workshop saw the participation of both the technical partners involved in the Weeenmodels project such as ISW, Institute for analysis and strategic development researcht in Halle (Germany), AMIU and TBridge, and the Local Consumer’s Association (Istituto Ligure per il Consumo), WEEE management experts and representatives of others national and international LIFE projects on WEEE (such LIFE MED, REWEE, ECORAEE, PHOTOLIFE, FRELP).
National and international LIFE projects discussed with experts what is needed to make sure that the new WEEE collection targets set by the EU Directive 2012/19/EU can be reached.
Indeed, with effect from 2019, each individual Member States will be required to collect and properly dispose of 85 per cent of the WEEE generated within its borders every year. It is assumed that stakeholders involved in the “WEEE System” across Europe will likely fail to meet the target by that date.
A list of updated available furniture is now available on the home page of the LIFE MED internet site www.life-med-equipment.eu
Coming soon
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP
On the 25-26-27 January 2017 an international workshop related with the final phase of the Project will take place in Brescia. During the meeting, the following topics will be discussed: European and Italian overview about waste management according to circular economy principles, state of the art and future prospects of WEEE management, comparison among European experiences of electronic and medical WEEE.
The event focuses on networking activities to discuss legislation and guidelines on WEEE management but also the analysis of case studies and practical experiences such as guided tours to discover the LIFE MED recovery area, where used medical equipment is brought to a new life.
More information about the program and how to participate are available in the schedule.