Covidien has become the twelfth company to join a group dedicated to promoting the recycling of plastics in the health care industry.

The $11.6 billion medical device company, which is in the process of spinning off its drugs division, is now part of the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council, according to a Wednesday announcement.

The HPRC says it promotes sustainable product and packaging design and encourages the recyclability of plastic items in health care. Pilot studies conducted by the group have already processed 20,000 pounds of plastic, the HPRC says, and have "facilitated a better understanding of plastics in the medical waste stream and their transition to recycled products."

"With this understanding, HPRC aims to further develop a national recycling system that is safe, repeatable, economically viable and environmentally sound through long-term landfill avoidance," the group says on its website.

Current members include Baxter, BD, Cardinal Health, DuPont, Eastman Chemical Co., Engineered Plastics, Hospira, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly Clark, Philips and Waste Management, the HPRC said.

Baxter, Eastman and Philips just joined in January, the group said. And last month, Kaiser Permanente and Stanford University Medical Center came aboard as health care facility advisors.

The private coalition says its next meeting will be held in May in Boulder, Colo., at Covidien's new 63,000-square-foot research center.

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