Bupa has announced an extended partnership with Cassava Bags Australia, marking a significant step towards reducing the reliance on single-use plastics within our health and care company.

Cassava Bags Australia produces 100 per cent natural, biodegradable and compostable bags and  other products made from the Cassava plant – a starchy root vegetable.

They were winners of  Bupa’s 2022 eco-Disruptive competition, which connects start-ups with dedicated Bupa teams to  help develop innovative solutions to the biggest environmental challenges facing our planet. 

As part of the initial pilot, Bupa will begin utilising products such as 100 per cent biodegradable  Cassava Bags Australia bin liners and kitchen waste products along with clinical products such as  headrests and tray sleeves across a number of Bupa Dental practices around Australia. 

Roger Sharp, Bupa’s Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer for Asia Pacific said this  partnership is extremely important in demonstrating that Bupa can deliver healthcare in more  sustainable ways by collaborating and thinking innovatively. 

“As a large organisation, we currently use thousands of plastic products every year that are  necessary for hygiene and often cannot be reused or recycled, so taking action to find sustainable  alternatives which we can incrementally scale up is a real priority for us. 

“This partnership is a testament to our people who worked with Cassava Bags Australia as part of  Bupa’s eco-Disruptive program and we can’t wait to see what comes next,” Roger said. 

This announcement builds on an existing initiative from Bupa Dental to start to move away from  plastics across a range of common dental care products such as cups, syringe sleeves, barrier film  and X-Ray sensor sleeves. 

Bruce Rossi, CEO and President of Purpose of Cassava Bags Australia said this pilot will aim to  showcase how small steps can make a big difference when it comes to sustainability in healthcare.  

“With Bupa’s support, we look forward to developing new initiatives across the consumer, business  and healthcare sectors to help stem the tide of global plastic pollution,” said Mr Rossi. 

Bupa’s partnership with Cassava Bags Australia and the eco-Disruptive program play an important role in Bupa’s global sustainability strategy.