Reducing the environmental impact of abdominal sponges
22 August 2022
212 Tonnes Less GHG Emissions
Transitioning to Fluro-Tec
As part of our commitment to product stewardship and driving more sustainable outcomes, we will be contacting our customers over the coming months to discuss with them our plans to discontinue production of 100% cotton abdominal sponges and the transition to Multigate Fluro-Tec® composite sponges.
Why we are making this change?
Multigate is a leading supplier of abdominal sponges to Australian hospitals. We supply a range of abdominal sponges to customers. Over half of those sponges supplied are made from 6 layers of woven pure cotton and the reminder are made from a composite material, in which the 4 inner cotton layers are replaced with non-woven polyester viscose. The 2 sponges look and feel very similar, however the difference in environmental footprint between the 2 sponges is significant and one we could not ignore.
The potential upside is, however, enormous.
Customers who switch to a composite sponge can contribute to a reduction in GHG emissions of 17-25%* and 44% in water use over the product’s lifecycle, depending on the end-of-life method used by their hospital.
Additionally, moving our customers across to our Fluro-Tec® range at the same time will also provide clinicians with the additional benefit of improved intra-operative detection. The stitching in our Fluro-Tec® sponges is a fluorescent green-yellow colour instead of white, which has been shown to make a blood soaked Fluro-Tec® sponge 9.5 times+ more visible to the naked eye than a regular sponge.
“Our goal is to transition all Australian customers from 100% cotton to our composite product. This is not only the right thing to do from an environmental perspective, but there is no downside in terms of clinical practice, no reduction in the product’s clinical performance, and no difference in cost.”
- Ben Chen, CEO - Multigate.
Benefits on a massive scale
Abdominal sponges are a frequently used surgical consumable and the sheer scale of usage means that even a small improvement in their environmental footprint can result in a significant positive benefit being realised once it is adopted Nationally.
The cumulative ongoing annual benefit of transitioning 5.3 million Multigate 100% cotton sponges to their equivalent-sized composite sponge, will result in us:
- Avoiding 212 tonnes of GHG emissions (tCO2e)~ entering the atmosphere, which has the equivalent effect of removing 72 average cars from Australian roads for 1 year^
- Saving 100 million litres of water~, which is the same amount of water used to fill 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or 1.8 million average showers#.
Next steps
Multigate is currently contacting hospitals around Australia to discuss approaches to the transition.
“The initial feedback we have received from customers who we have shared this information with so far has been extremely positive. They have been very supportive of our initiative to push this change through as it is a very simple change, but one that will make a very big impact in terms of environmental impact and sustainability. In fact, some customers were extremely quick to commit to the transition and we thank them for joining us on this journey to drive more sustainable outcomes.”
- Ben Chen, CEO - Multigate
If you would like to learn more about this initiative or receive a tailored report from Multigate that shows how much you can reduce your GHG emissions and water usage by transitioning your current portfolio to composite sponges, please contact your Business Development Manager or click here to send us an email.
Our environmental impact reduction plan
Multigate has a comprehensive environmental stewardship program with clear objectives to systematically reduce emissions in our operations and our products. We are also a certified Climate Neutral Company, which we see as an important first step in a body of work aimed at reducing our environmental impact in all facets of our business.
Transitioning our customers from cotton to composite sponges is the first of many product change opportunities we have already identified that can directly lead to better outcomes for the environment and our customers. We look forward to being able to discuss other opportunities for positive change with customers soon.
* 25% reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, 44% reduction in water usage is based on End of Life (EOL) clinical waste disposal method 100% disinfect and landfill being used. Savings from using EOL 100% incineration is 17% and 44% respectively.
~ The End of Life (EOL) used is a mix of 50% disinfect & landfill, 50% incineration. This mix attempts to reflect varying clinical waste disposal methods used by different hospitals.
^ Based on an average Australian petrol passenger car that uses 11.1L/100km and travels 11,067km year (abs.gov.au 2020) and Petrol EF of 2.38 kgCO2e/L (industry.gov.au 2021), we calculate emission generated at 0.26418 kgCO2e/km travelled and 2,923.68 kgCO2e per car/per year.
# Based on Olympic swimming pool volume of 2,500,500L based on official minimum dimensions of 50m long x 25m wide by 2m deep (phinizycentre.org). Average shower = 55L. Based on a 7 minute shower using 7.857 litres per minute (mdba.gov.au).
+ Based on the luminance contrast performance of Fluro-Tec® compared to a standard swab or sponge, independently verified under a control study "Multigate Fluro-Tec® Luminance Contrast Assessment", Ergonomie Pty Ltd, 04/07/2019