The drive for greater sustainability

Modern healthcare packaging relies heavily on plastics, aluminium and paper which together offer versatility to meet a wide range of crucial performance attributes to ensure sterility, shelf life, quality, durability, and safety for patients and healthcare workers. A significant proportion of the generated plastic waste, approximately 85% , falls into the non-hazardous category, sharing similarities with the waste found in our own households. This makes it a prime candidate for recycling.

To address this issue, the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC), of which Amcor is a member, plays a vital role. Established in 2010, HPRC is a consortium of industry experts in healthcare, recycling, and waste management. Their mission involves pioneering projects aimed at improving plastic product and packaging recyclability within healthcare settings, particularly in hospitals.

As we navigate the evolution of more sustainable packaging across the full healthcare supply chain, it becomes increasingly important to design packaging based on the principles of reduction and recyclability, all while upholding patient safety. This approach can help navigate the journey to more sustainable medical packaging.

Innovation in medical packaging

The pursuit of improved sustainability for medical packaging is undeniably challenging, given the non-negotiable requirements of patient safety and device performance.

It is crucial to establish performance requirements and identify potential solutions that meet them, while also addressing sustainability. As greater sustainability become a key criteria for packaging solutions it is essential to distinguish between what is genuinely necessary and what we have grown accustomed to, or what can sometimes be, over-specified features.

There is a need to ask critical questions to assess packaging choices, such as: How much water or oxygen barrier is genuinely required for a specific shelf life? What are the packaging requirements to ensure pack integrity and safety? How do we balance the need for achieving recyclability with carbon footprint reduction?

This understanding is essential in navigating the path towards more sustainable packaging solutions. Current solutions can include very different materials such as paper and plastic combinations that by design are considered non-recyclable. The journey towards more sustainable solutions is filled with these unique, medical-specific considerations.

In this demanding field, the balancing act becomes critical, especially in terms of achieving recyclability and reducing the carbon footprint. The medical industry is not content with the status quo; it is actively seeking ways to challenge convention and think in a more innovative way. The commitment to both patient safety and sustainability underscores the industry's determination to spearhead meaningful change.

Amcor's solution: Amcor HealthCare™ Recycle-Ready Medical Laminates

Finding a solution that pairs a move towards a greater levels of sustainability with safety and performance can be a challenge. Traditional medical laminates have long relied on non-recyclable oriented polyester as an outer layer. Amcor HealthCare™ Recycle-Ready Medical Laminates, based entirely on mono-material polyethylene (PE), are set to disrupt this conventional approach. These innovative laminates are designed to replace the non-recyclable laminates or even non-recyclable paper based top webs used in 3D thermoformed packages. This enables devices such as drapes, protective materials, catheters, injection and tubing systems to be packed in a recyclable mono-PE pack. Additionally, mono-material PE laminates could be applied to 2D pouches for applications such as wound care.

The shift from multi-material packages to mono-material ones, particularly from paper-plastic combinations to an all-film pack , facilitates easier collection and sorting for recycling in hospital settings. However, this transition also necessitates a shift in sterilization methods, as the all-film packaging is no longer porous, meaning the device will need to be sterilized by irradiation.

This transition to mono-polyethylene laminates not only solves the recyclability dilemma, but it also secures the essential packaging performance levels required for medical devices. In essence, it's a step towards a more sustainable future for medical packaging.

The creation of innovative materials like the Amcor HealthCare™ Recycle-Ready Medical Laminates comes from our dedication to more sustainable healthcare packaging. These solutions align with the EU Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy and contribute toward achieving your company's environmental goals. They are also supported by our partnership and support of the HPRC. These recycle-ready solutions are well-positioned to meet the growing environmental requirements in packaging tenders, which are already a reality in several European countries. Beyond recyclability, these laminates also offer the additional benefit of a substantially reduced carbon footprint.

Making the smart switch

Our team of healthcare packaging experts support medical device manufacturers and can help you manage the complexity of change, patient safety, and stringent regulations. We understand that navigating this road isn't a simple journey. With Amcor, you'll find guidance in meeting recyclability standards, achieving a notable carbon footprint reduction, and mapping out an innovation roadmap.