Faced with the Covid-19 epidemic, the demand for packaging for medical waste collection explodes. At the packaging manufacturer Cartospé Packaging in Oise, "?la production has almost doublé?", reports Christophe Bodart, the company's chairman, at the Picard Mail .
Oise was one of the first outbreaks of the epidemic in France, about a fortnight before most other departments.
The CEO explains on a daily basis that he quickly saw the impact on demand and was thus prepared to respond to it. In March, the company manufactured 1.2 million cases of the Healthcare waste with infectious risks (DASRI), versus 700?000 under normal circumstances.
Cardboard boxes produced to contain medical waste must be specially designed to comply with current regulations. They are packaging that can be used in different health care facilities.
In the Eure region, the company Ondulys Andelle, which specialises in cardboard packaging, has quadrupled its production and is preparing to operate every day of the week to cope with the increase in demand throughout Europe, reports France Bleu Normandie .
The company that usually produces 40?000 medical waste bins per week is trying to pass the bar of 150?000 weekly bins.
According to the Suez group, there is currently a 30 to 40% increase in DASRI in the regions most affected by Covid-19 in the Île-de-France region and in the Grand Est.
In China's Hubei Province, where the epidemic originated, the amount of medical waste has reached 667 tons per day compared to 180 tons before the epidemic, according to the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment. At the end of March, China counted 182?000 tons of medical waste treated since the end of January during the fight against Covid-19.
