Honeywell’s blister packaging recognized for technical recyclability

INDIA – TerraCycle has recognized Honeywell’s Aclar barrier film blisters as technically recyclable for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG)-based blisters.

Through the partnership, the team has developed a lab-scale process that allows for the separation of Aclar from blister packaging to achieve technical recyclability.

The first step toward practical recyclability is technical recyclability, which may enable a second, downstream life for products that have traditionally been regarded as difficult to recycle, such as industrial process equipment, chemical apparatus, and automotive components.

Honeywell’s Life Sciences portfolio includes Aclar ultra-high-barrier film and Aclar Edge bottles. Aclar films and Aclar Edge bottles both help to protect drugs by providing the moisture barrier protection required for drug stability and preserving medicine efficacy.

This recent accomplishment provides a method for recycling multi-layer materials such as pharmaceutical blister packaging.

The fact that current traditional recycling processes can only handle less complex structures like monolayer materials is a common challenge faced by pharmaceutical manufacturers and consumers alike.

As a result, waste from multi-layer primary pharmaceutical barrier packaging materials is frequently sent to landfills or incinerated because it cannot be recycled through existing municipal recycle streams.

As a result, at the request of their customers, pharmaceutical manufacturers have embarked on an aggressive journey to reduce their environmental footprint.

They are making firm commitments to carbon neutrality, PVC-free packaging, and material reduction in packaging.

The reclaimed material is expected to be used downstream for non-pharmaceutical products. This is significant because current regulations prohibit the use of recycled material in primary drug packaging.

The process developed by the team to reclaim material from used multi-layer Aclar film blisters allows Honeywell to continue to reduce its environmental footprint by reducing waste and diverting materials from landfills or other disposal methods.

The reclaimed material is expected to be used downstream for non-pharmaceutical products. This is significant because current regulations prohibit the use of recycled materials in primary drug packaging.

Although Aclar film blisters are currently recyclable at the lab scale, the next step is to demonstrate the process in a real-world scenario by developing separation processes to enable post-patient collection and recovery of healthcare packaging.

Honeywell is developing separation processes to enable post-patient collection and recovery of healthcare packaging, as sustainable practices continue to be critical for furthering these efforts.

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