Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
How does the environmental
impact of single-use
manufacturing compare to
traditional stainless
manufacturing?
The total environmental footprint of a manufacturing facility
is more complex and adds additional factors to the more
familiar term “carbon footprint.” The environmental
footprint additionally considers the consumption of water,
usage of land, and the impact of humans that operate and
travel to, from, and within the facility. The primary
contributor to the difference between traditional stainless
operations and single-use operations is in sanitization and
cleaning processes. While there has been growing public
concern over the generation of solid waste products from
plastics, by comparison the environmental burden of
multiuse stainless operations is extreme in the
consumption of chemicals, water, and energy.
SUSs do not require the same sanitization and cleaning rigor
due to their disposability. The disposable plastic materials
from single-use processes can typically be effectively
incinerated often with energy capture potential in
cogenerative operations.
Who can be contacted to
learn more about
implementing single-use
technology into my
operation?
BPSA comprises 40-member organizations within which
reside a variety of experts who are willing to assist you in
the implementation of single-use systems. The first stop
to gathering the knowledge to educate on single-use
manufacturing is to contact BPSA Executive Director
Kevin Ott,
ottk@socma.com
, who can direct you to the
proper resources contained within the membership of
both the BPSA and the additional standard-setting and
technical organizations that deal with all aspects of
single-use systems.
What is the value of BPSA
and the benefits of
membership?
BPSA's mission is to advance the adoption of single-use
systems, worldwide. BPSA promotes this purpose by
conducting networking activities, monitoring legislative
and regulatory initiatives involving SUS, publishing
industry guides on specific topics relevant to the industry,
and being the information clearinghouse for education on
all aspects of single-use. Suppliers of single-use
components, end-users of single-use systems, ancillary
service providers and contract manufacturers are all
eligible for BPSA membership as dues-paying
organizations. Membership information and applications
for membership can be seen at
www.bpsalliance.org
.
Finally, BPSA is the only national organization that
represents industry interests in single-use and that serves
as the focal point for education on matters related to this
industry and its customer base.
