There’s ‘No Silver Bullet’ For Making Medicines Packaging Sustainable
Executive Summary
There’s no simple answer to the question of how to make medicines packaging sustainable, says international recycling consultancy and Veolia Group subsidiary Circpack. “Manufacturers need to assess what works best for them, and recyclers will do the same,” Circpack analyst and circular packaging expert Filipe Vieira de Castro tells HBW Insight in this exclusive Q&A. “The best thing we can all do is put effort into finding common ground between systems, which comes down to better understanding the complexities between them.”
Globally, we produce 141m tons of plastic packaging a year, according to UK recycling advocates Wrap, with around a third of all plastic packaging leaking from collection systems and polluting the environment.
Plastic production, use and disposal creates about 1.8bn tons of carbon emissions annually, it notes, contributing significantly to the related problem of global warming.
It’s no wonder then that citizens and governments across the world have declared war on single-use plastics. In Europe, single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds cannot be placed on the markets of EU Member States.
Medicines blister packaging – traditionally made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a halogenated material containing chlorine which is considered harmful to environment – has so far been excluded from plastics regulations, due to constraints on maintaining the safety and integrity of their contents.
However, at some point this grace period will run out. EU decision makers are currently debating whether this exemption should end in 2035 as part of the incoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, depending on how far the development of alternative materials and recycling processes have progressed by that point. (Also see "EU Parliament Stricter Than Council On Medicines And Medical Devices Packaging" - HBW Insight, 28 Mar, 2024.)
The consumer health industry is currently exploring alternatives. Haleon, Bayer Consumer Health and Sanofi Consumer Healthcare are among the manufacturers to have joined the Blister Pack Collective, which is looking at how to commercialize a sustainable dry molded fiber tablet blister pack. (Also see "Sanofi Joins Push For Plastic-Free Blister Packs" - HBW Insight, 9 Feb, 2024.)
But as circular packaging expert Filipe Vieira de Castro tells HBW Insight in this exclusive Q&A, “When we think about packaging for medical products, safety and keeping the medicine effective are top priorities. However, not many materials check these boxes.”
If we can’t get rid of plastics, then we will need to get better at recycling them. But as de Castro points out, and Circpak’s ReCoRe platform shows, national recycling systems are currently “not equipped to handle medical plastics in a closed-loop fashion at scale.”
De Castro also makes a compelling case for embracing extended producer responsibility, which asks companies to contribute significantly to waste management costs, simply because the proof is in the pudding. “The tangible impact of EPR is evident in the uptick of recycling rates in countries that have adopted such policies,” he notes.
While sorting generally follows the same principles, some countries are diverging from existing standards for varying reasons: e.g. France's Flux Development strategy. Design for Recycling (D4R) standards are just as complex between countries, as they are often facilitated by Producer Responsibility Organizations – the enactors of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR – see below). Use of specific D4R standards is set at the country level with various preferred approaches. In many cases, countries refer to supranational standards set by organizations like Circpack and Recyclass.
As we aim for better recycling methods, we're caught in a balancing act with costs. I'm sure many readers will be interested in the possibility of chemical recycling, with its proposed wide applicability and appealing feature of sanitation. However, the high energy consumption of these processes brings us back to considering more traditional materials like glass and metals, for their established recycling efficiency. There's really no silver bullet here; manufacturers need to assess what works best for them, and recyclers will do the same. The best thing we can all do is put effort into finding common ground between systems, which comes down to better understanding the complexities between them.
The tangible impact of EPR is evident in the uptick of recycling rates in countries that have adopted such policies. This isn't coincidental; it's the direct result of aligning corporate incentives with environmental goals. Companies are nudged – or pushed, depending on the regulatory environment – to design packaging with its lifecycle in mind. The (hopeful) result? Packaging that's easier to recycle and less harmful to the environment. But let's not pigeonhole EPR as a child of regulation alone. The example set by South Africa, where the industry itself initiated the EPR scheme, showcases a proactive approach which reflects a broader understanding within the industry that sustainability isn't just good for the planet; it's good for business. While it's easy to lean heavily on the professional jargon, the essence of EPR is profoundly simple: it's about taking responsibility and using it as a lever for innovation and environmental stewardship.
The upcoming evolution from the PPWD to the PPWR represents a pivotal change for the European marketplace. The Directive’s approach was to set recycling targets and advise on excluding certain packaging options, yet it left much to member states' discretion, leading to a patchwork of recycling practices. In contrast, the PPWR will enforce these advisories as compulsory requirements and introduce a wider range of targets. This transition aims to harmonize recycling efforts across Europe, addressing the current disparities and moving towards a more standardized and effective recycling system. Finally, it's important to note that there are notable exceptions, particularly for medical packaging, which acknowledges the unique requirements of this sector.
At the end of the day, this shift is all about harmonization. By introducing the PPWR, Europe is moving towards standardizing key aspects like collection systems, Deposit Return Schemes, and crucially, Design for Recycling standards. This means that, looking forward, the ability of packaging to be recycled will play a significant role in determining its access to the European single market.