In 1995, the EPA noted that there were more than 2,800 medical waste incinerator facilities in the United States. Today there are only eight left in operation, creating a large deficit that can at times end up in landfills.
As the world looks to cleaner, more efficient ways to deal with its waste, Dallas- and New Mexico-based Monarch Waste Technologies, along with help for some tech from the UK, is hoping to transform waste processing and helping make a greener environment in the process.
“I saw the need and I went out and found the individuals to surround myself with,” said David Cardenas, principal and co-founder of Monarch. “It was a struggle… of trying to get someone to say, 'we will pull the trigger and we will do this with you.' We looked at each other and said, 'we have to build this ourselves and they will come.'”
Monarch has created a proprietary technology called PyroMed 550, a self-sufficient, combustion-free medical waste “incinerator” that runs without the need for an outside fuel source. The machine takes shredded medical waste into a 900-degree Celsius, air-free tube to decompose the waste without producing any flame or smoke. All that is left after the process is carbon char, similar to a charcoal briquet.
The process is known in the industry as pyrolysis, a process of absorbing heat from the surroundings to create chemical decomposition of the waste material. And Monarch is the first to bring the tech to the United States, and also the first to get designated as a pyrolysis device by the EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE). Cardenas said the DOE endorsed the PyroMed’s process.
"We looked at each other and said we have to build this ourselves and they will come."
Monarch’s PyroMed device was built in 2017 and is located near Santa Fe. During government testing of the product, it was found that the PyroMed 550 produced 95 percent cleaner emissions than the EPA allows for hazardous waste combustors. It also produces 95 percent less waste going to the landfill by weight, Cardenas said.
“Monarch Waste system is consequently anticipated to significantly reduce emissions of harmful atmospheric pollutants compared with incineration,” the DOE said in its final report validating the PyroMed 550.
Cardenas said that it took about four years to receive a designation from the government. In that time, it was a struggle to get companies and hospitals to buy into and invest in the concept, he added. Now he said, hospitals and other companies are shipping waste to their New Mexico facility from across the country.
As Monarch continues to grow, Cardenas said the company plans to build more PyroMed 550 facilities in Texas, including in Dallas and Houston. He said that ideally, the company will eventually be able to build smaller units on-site at hospitals for quick disposal of medical waste, which would also cut down on emissions from trucks hauling waste from various corners of the country. The company is also planning on hiring more employees as it looks to partner with more hospitals and companies to dispose of their waste.
“This process took more time than we anticipated but considering the impact of what we will accomplish from here, it was worth the effort,” said a Monarch spokesperson in a press release announcing the pyrolysis designation. “Now we are focused on market expansion and our timing could not be better given the need for this type of technology across the country.”
