For healthcare
A cup without plastic, for the rounds you already do.
Our medicine cup made of bacterial cellulose is designed for the dispensers and pill crushers you already use.
On the ward
What it means for your ward.
No new way of working
The cup is designed for the dispensers and pill crushers you already use. Whether it fits everywhere is what we find out together in a pilot.
Made without PFAS
We use no PFAS and no coating.
Our own data (details and source)Holds liquid
Formed cups hold liquid in our laboratory tests.
Internal test (details and source)
The cup
The cup at a glance.
- Volume
- 30 ml Our own data (details and source)
- PFAS
- Made without PFAS Our own data (details and source)
- Material
- No plastic, no coating Our own data (details and source)
- Liquid
- Holds liquid Internal test (details and source)
- Sterility
- Supplied non-sterile Our own data (details and source)
In practice
Maasstad Ziekenhuis is already testing it.
A pilot is running at Maasstad Ziekenhuis in Rotterdam, where hospital staff test our cup during the medication round. No patients take part yet. We share results only after the joint publication with Maasstad, expected in early November 2026. Source (details and source)
To our knowledge, our pilot at Maasstad Ziekenhuis is the first hospital pilot in the world with disposables made of bacterial cellulose. Our own data (details and source)
The hospital announced the pilot itself, in its own press release (opens in a new tab).
Why now
Less disposable plastic is already on the agenda.
Green Deal Duurzame Zorg
Signatories of the Dutch Green Deal on sustainable healthcare work towards lower CO₂ emissions and less waste. A pilot with a cup without plastic is a concrete step for disposables.
CSRD and Scope 3
If you report on Scope 3, for example under the CSRD, the emissions of the products you buy count too. Medicine cups are part of that.
Milieuthermometer Zorg
With the Milieuthermometer Zorg, Dutch care organisations show how far they have come with sustainability. Waste and purchasing count towards it.
Getting started
How a pilot works.
Introductory meeting
We discuss which wards take part, who is involved and what you want to get out of the pilot.
Pilot plan
Together we agree how many cups you need, how long the pilot runs and what we measure.
On the ward
We deliver the cups. Nurses use them on their usual medication rounds and we regularly gather their feedback.
Evaluate
We look at the results together and agree on next steps.
In October 2026 the first sample cups go to hospitals that are considering a pilot. Our own data (details and source)
Founding Partners
Be one of the first to switch.
A single hospital can easily throw away 300,000 plastic medicine cups a year. Estimate (details and source)
We are preparing the switch with a small group of hospitals. Founding Partners test first and help shape the cup and the products that come after it.
About the programme See the market analysisPractical questions
What hospitals ask us.
Do nurses need to handle it differently from a plastic medicine cup?
They shouldn't need to. The cup is designed for the dispensers and pill crushers you already use. During a pilot we ask for your feedback, so we can keep improving the cup.
Is the cup sterile?
No. The cup is supplied non-sterile. Our own data (details and source) We have run initial sterilisation tests with gamma irradiation, ethylene oxide and e-beam. The results are preliminary. There is no validation report yet. Internal test (details and source)
Does it react with medication?
In a published study, bacterial cellulose did not react chemically with the two medicines tested, ibuprofen and propranolol. Source (details and source)
What does it cost?
That depends on the pilot. We agree it with each hospital.
Which bin does the cup go in after use?
Today it goes in general waste, like a plastic cup. It cannot go in the organic waste yet, because we do not have a compostability certificate. Our goal is a cup that can go in the organic waste after use and become compost. Goal (details and source)
Shall we plan a pilot? We will bring the cup.
Sources and evidence
Everything we claim on this page, with the source, the conditions and the date we last checked it. Our own testing is marked as Internal test, plans as Goal. So you can check for yourself what each claim rests on.
Show all 12 sourcesHide sources
Our own data We use no PFAS and no coating.
- Source
- Plastilose product specification (2026)
- Conditions
- This is about what we use, not a test result. The cup has not yet been tested for fluorine.
- Status
- Our own data
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Internal test Formed cups hold liquid in our laboratory tests.
- Source
- Plastilose internal testing (2026)
- Conditions
- From early 2027 we will measure on the pilot line whether this holds for a full medication round.
- Status
- Internal test
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Our own data The cup holds 30 ml.
- Source
- Plastilose product specification (2026)
- Conditions
- This applies to the current design.
- Status
- Our own data
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Our own data The cup is made of cellulose, with no coating, laminate or additives. There is no plastic in it.
- Source
- Plastilose product specification (2026)
- Conditions
- This follows from the composition of the product. We do not yet have a microplastics test report.
- Status
- Our own data
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Our own data The cup is supplied non-sterile.
- Source
- Plastilose product specification (2026)
- Conditions
- This applies to the current supply. We do not claim that the cup is sterile.
- Status
- Our own data
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Source A pilot is running at Maasstad Ziekenhuis in Rotterdam, where hospital staff test our cup during the medication round.
- Source
- Maasstad Ziekenhuis press release, 9 April 2026
- Link
- maasstadziekenhuis.nl/nieuws/pilot-medicijncupjes (opens in a new tab)
- Conditions
- No patients take part yet. We share results only after the joint publication with Maasstad, expected in early November 2026.
- Status
- Source
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Our own data To our knowledge, our pilot at Maasstad Ziekenhuis is the first hospital pilot in the world with disposables made of bacterial cellulose.
- Source
- Maasstad Ziekenhuis press release (9 April 2026) and our own literature and market research
- Link
- maasstadziekenhuis.nl/nieuws/pilot-medicijncupjes (opens in a new tab)
- Conditions
- This is based on our own literature and market research.
- Status
- Our own data
- Last checked
- 25 August 2026
Our own data In October 2026 the first sample cups go to hospitals that are considering a pilot.
- Source
- Plastilose (2026)
- Conditions
- We make them by hand in our Delft lab until the pilot line runs.
- Status
- Our own data
- Last checked
- 9 October 2026
Estimate 300,000 plastic medicine cups a year: what a single hospital easily throws away
- Source
- Plastilose market analysis (2026)
- Conditions
- Order of magnitude, based on hospital consumption data from our interviews.
- Status
- Estimate
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Internal test We have run initial sterilisation tests with gamma irradiation, ethylene oxide and e-beam. The results are preliminary. There is no validation report yet.
- Source
- Plastilose internal testing (2026)
- Conditions
- The cup is supplied non-sterile. We do not claim that it is sterile.
- Status
- Internal test
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Source FTIR measurements show that bacterial cellulose does not react chemically with ibuprofen or propranolol. Only weak, reversible hydrogen bonds form.
- Source
- Jantarat et al., RSC Advances 11 (2021)
- Link
- DOI 10.1039/d1ra07761a (opens in a new tab)
- Conditions
- This is published research on bacterial cellulose, not a test of our cup.
- Status
- Source
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
Goal Our goal is a cup that can go in the organic waste after use and become compost.
- Source
- Plastilose (2026)
- Conditions
- This is a goal, not a property of today's cup. Today the cup goes in general waste. We are still testing organic-waste and paper-recycling routes with waste processors. Nothing has been agreed. We do not have a compostability certificate.
- Status
- Goal
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026