Amcor propels blister packs toward circular economy with recyclable polyethylene design
30 Apr 2021 --- Amcor is launching customer trials for its new mono-material, recyclable polyethylene (PE) blister packs in what it claims is a “breakthrough” for pharmaceutical packaging.
Branded AmSky, the packs eliminate polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which makes recycling difficult due to its chlorine content.
Speaking to PackagingInsights, John Forsyth, a senior product manager for pharmaceuticals at Amcor, explains why shifting blister packs to a more recyclable material presents a significant hurdle for manufacturers.
“PVC has been a market standard for over 60 years, so all the machines for forming blister packs have been optimized to work with PVC, which is a stiff material. This was a significant challenge.”
The addition of aluminum to PVC on most blister packs also compounds recycling issues.
“Developing a solution which performs on the existing machines using polyolefin materials has only been possible thanks to the material science and know-how within Amcor’s R&D team.”
Carbon reductions
Amcor estimates the packs will result in a 70 percent reduction in carbon footprint, estimated by comparing a standard PVC blister and aluminum lidding versus a new AmSky PE blister and PE lidding film.
The mono-material polyethylene AmSky blister packs will be available next year.“To translate that into relatable everyday items, for about every one million blister packs, the carbon footprint savings would be the equivalent of taking five cars off the road for one year, turning off 103 CFL light bulbs for one year, or not taking 640 ten minute showers,” says Forsyth.
Amcor is also offering its Formpack line of aluminum-based blister packs that can be recycled indefinitely in aluminum streams.
Whether Amcor will use post-consumer recyclate (PCR) plastics for healthcare applications is under a longer-term evaluation, asserts Forsyth.
“Using PCR plastics in pharmaceutical packaging has the same challenges as using it for many food-contact applications. We see the potential for future chemical or advanced recycling to provide PCR plastics with the same purity as virgin plastics today.”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expressed concerns that some PCR materials may contain contaminants rendering them unsuitable for food or pharmaceutical applications.
Moving into pharma
Amcor says it is currently working with several leading pharmaceutical companies to bring AmSky to market globally. The company expects AmSky to be available in the healthcare market by the second half of 2022.
Financial details and partnerships are currently confidential, but Amcor already generates an estimated US$2 billion in sales through the healthcare market.
Forsyth says Amcor is currently working on new pharmaceutical packaging designs.
“We are evaluating further healthcare applications for this material innovation. The PE-based thermoform material is suitable for many typical thermoforming formats, such as trays to package pre-filled syringes or some medical devices. This is an area we will explore.”
Blister recycling schemes
This year, waste management company TerraCycle partnered with pharmaceutical companies in the UK to launch a recycling scheme for traditional PVC aluminum blister packs.
The company says the project seeks to answer the specific consumer demand for better recycling infrastructure in the healthcare market, particularly with consumption of healthcare products rising during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A partnership with Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical company and maker of products such as Buscopan and Dulcolax, now provides drop-off points for consumers at independent pharmacies across the UK.
Superdrug pharmacy chain will also participate, with the initiative aiming to reach at least 400 stores within the first year.
By Louis Gore-Langton
