Leading the way with recyclable

aligners
BDJ Team volume 9, page46 (2022)Cite this article
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European orthodontic clinic Impress has announced the launch of a new

aligner recycling initiative, with the aim of promoting sustainability through
its 2022 corporate social responsibility plan. Impress hopes that all patients
will recycle their aligners and encourages its competitors to do the same.
Impress has placed containers in all their flagship clinics so that its patients
can deposit their aligners. With thousands of patients visiting the clinics
each year, it is expected that a huge volume of plastic will be recycled each
year, rather than ending up in landfill.
All of the aligners that are collected in Impress' clinics will be allocated to
different uses and areas, which includes:

1. 1.

As a fuel or means of generating energy: once the aligners have been

incinerated, the resulting energy can be used to generate heat or
electricity

2. 2.

As a material for other industries: recycled plastic is common in other

industries, such as the automotive sector, for example, it's used in
bumpers, acoustic insulation plates, interior door panels, floors, and
trunks

3. 3.

As a land treatment: To benefit agriculture and ecological

development, the recycled aligners can be used to create fertilisers or
soil conditioners.
 increased awareness of environmental responsibilities among aligner
manufacturers, aligner prescribing clinicians and aligner users is essential
for better alignment of our climate change goals towards a sustainable
planet.