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Evaluation Report Pharmafilter

This report presents the results of the Pharmafilter demonstration project at the Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis in Delft, for which the foundation was laid on 25 January 2010. System tests began on 7 June 2010.

Removal of solid waste through the sewer system, for a cleaner hospital; removal of medicinal residues from waste water for a cleaner environment. This, in short, is what the Pharmafilter system promises. Shredders (Tonto) are used in the hospital in place of the traditional bedpan cleaners and at places where waste is generated. Almost all types of waste are shredded by the Tonto and flushed through the existing sewer system. An installation is set up outside the hospital which digests and decontaminates the solid waste, thereby producing biogas. All waste water is purified and cleaned of medicinal residues. The Pharmafilter system makes it economically and environmentally feasible to address processes in the hospital through the introduction of biodegradable, single use disposable products instead of products that need to be sterilized after each use, such as bedpans, urinals and cutlery.

Since late 2010, the hospital’s waste water has undergone full purification. The first series of Tontos was tested and developed in the nursing wards of the H-Building from the start of 2011 onwards. The digestion and decontamination of the waste from the wards, and the use of the biodegradable bedpan (Olla), and disposable urinals (Botta) and measuring cups, has been fully operational since October 2011. From 1 December 2011, tests have been carried out with the processing of specific hospital waste.