Westlake Global Compounds and Westlake Dimex, business units of Westlake Corporation, announced the launch of “Choose Pink,” a pilot polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling program with Houston Methodist.

The program is the first-of-its-kind at a health care system in Houston and will take place at the Outpatient Center (OPC) at Houston Methodist Hospital, the hospital’s flagship location in the Texas Medical Center.

The Choose Pink pilot recycling program will establish a collection system for post-patient, PVC items such as nasal cannulas and masks; oxygen tubing; and saline bags from outpatient procedures, items traditionally disposed of in the hospital setting.

These items will be collected in designated hampers and bags to contain the recycled waste, which will eliminate the need for further material sorting in this program. Bags will be collected and placed into containers and transported to a Houston Methodist warehouse to be loaded onto a semi-trailer that, once filled, will be transported to Westlake Dimex’s facility in Marietta, Ohio for recycling.

“This pilot PVC recycling program is an opportunity for our clinical technicians to divert a substantial amount of material from landfills and into a system where these items may be reformatted for other use,” said Jason Fischer, director of the office of sustainability, Houston Methodist. “At our core, Houston Methodist strives to help people live longer, healthier and happier lives. That commitment, combined with our culture of innovation, extends to the stewardship of our environment. We look forward to this recycling collection system augmenting our ongoing sustainability efforts.”