Global regulations overlook healthcare plastic packaging waste, says report

A new report warns that the single-use plastics in the healthcare sector, which have often been exempted from broader policies, are driving up costs, waste, and GHG emissions. The report identifies the environmental and financial impact of plastics in high-volume product categories, such as fluid bags and tubing, rigid device packaging, and pharmaceutical packaging.

The report, A Prescription for Change: Rethinking plastics use in healthcare to reduce waste, greenhouse gas emissions and costs, released by sustainability consultancies Systemiq and Eunomia, finds that Europe’s healthcare sector generated more than 900,000 metric tons of single-use plastics in 2023. That waste produced an estimated 5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions and cost health systems €23 billion (US$26.9 billion).

Yoni Shiran, partner and plastics lead, Systemiq, tells Packaging Insights: “Healthcare remains one of the few sectors largely exempt from plastic-related regulation, including the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and California’s Senate Bill 54, mainly on the basis of clinical safety. While patient safety is non-negotiable and some exemptions are justified, blanket exclusions have delayed innovation and slowed the transition toward more circular systems.”

He demands targeted regulatory changes to drive progress. 

Yoni Shiran, partner and plastics lead, Systemiq.“These include mandatory reporting of plastic use and associated emissions, setting reduction and recyclability targets for some applications, and embedding lifecycle impact criteria into public procurement standards.” 

“In parallel, regulators can accelerate approval pathways for innovative packaging designs and safe reusable products, ensuring they meet both sterility and sustainability standards. These kinds of changes would give hospitals and suppliers the confidence to invest and scale proven alternatives, without any negative impact on patient safety.”

Global call for change

Shiran says the international healthcare community is increasingly united in its call to include healthcare plastics in regulation as the packaging industry witnesses a global technology integration.

“An open letter published by Health Care Without Harm, urging the phase-out of harmful plastics in healthcare, has been endorsed by over 48 million health professionals worldwide — a clear signal of the sector’s growing resolve to address plastic pollution.”

“Clear performance standards and accelerated approval processes are required to enable safe, circular alternatives to scale across the sector.”

He reveals that certain plastic healthcare packaging products currently treated as single-use are functionally reusable and are already reused in some countries. 

“In the UK and France, hospitals have replaced single-use trays, syringes, and pre-operative kits with reusable alternatives, resulting in lower waste volumes and reduced GHG emissions, without compromising clinical outcomes.”Pharmaceutical packaging is moving toward greater recyclability, digital integration, and circularity, according to Alplapharma.

Balancing safety and sustainability

The report outlines five evidence-based strategies to reduce single-use plastics: refusing or reducing unnecessary items, reusing durable alternatives, substituting with safe paper-based or compostable materials, improving recycling through design and segregation, and procuring low-carbon plastics from bio-based or carbon capture and storage derived sources.

“Patient safety is non-negotiable, but evidence increasingly demonstrates that reusable or alternative materials can meet the same hygiene and performance standards as single-use plastics. Reusable products such as surgical gowns, metal trays, and infant feeding bottles are already in use across a range of healthcare settings, supported by proper sterilization protocols and logistics systems,” shares Shiran.

Meanwhile, Paavo Sillanpää, senior manager for ecosystem pharma and healthcare, EMEIA, at UPM Adhesive Materials, tells Packaging Insights that due to the emphasis on product and patient safety, “the use of more sustainable materials like PCR content is moving slower than other sectors.”

“An additional challenge is that the primary packaging is not yet recyclable, because the drug residue is considered hazardous waste and cannot be mixed with other waste streams.”

Sillanpää says there are many projects ongoing in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector to find solutions to these challenges. “In fact, we are working with a range of our customers to facilitate this from a labeling perspective, for example, using thinner materials and bio-content options, among other things.”

Christian Hehle, global sales director at Alplapharma, tells us that beyond packaging, the company is investing in green energy projects and lightweighting initiatives for OTC products to reduce waste. 

The report indicates that replacing plastics with compostable materials can be a cost-saving solution to reduce waste.“Alplapharma contributes to sustainable pharmaceutical packaging by leveraging Alpla Group’s infrastructure while focusing on pharma-specific requirements. Alplapharma operates multiple plants close to customers to reduce logistics impact.”

Circularity for cost-effectiveness

Shiran notes that based on modeling, shifting to circular practices, including reduction, reuse, substitution, and improved recycling, could save healthcare systems up to US$18 billion annually by 2040 across Europe and North America, compared to a business-as-usual trajectory.

“Circular economy solutions offer a compelling financial case. For decision-makers managing constrained budgets, this represents a clear non-regret opportunity. Sustainability measures can unlock operational efficiency, reduce dependence on volatile fossil-based supply chains, and demonstrate alignment with institutional climate and waste reduction commitments,” he highlights.

“Some of these solutions require initial capital expenditure, for example, implementation of awareness campaigns, purchase of reusable gowns, and scaling/laundering capacity, which is initially more expensive than purchasing single-use gowns.” 

Shiran says the consideration should not focus on an annual increase, as the investment will pay back over multiple years.

“For the packaging industry, the transition presents an opportunity to lead. Priority actions include redesigning products for recyclability, reducing unnecessary plastic through smarter engineering, investing in low-GHG-emissions materials, and collaborating with hospitals to develop modular or reusable systems.”

He points out that in Germany, some manufacturers have already reduced the plastic content of rigid packaging by up to 40% through design innovation.

“Demonstrating that these solutions are safe, cost-effective, and operationally scalable will be critical to shifting procurement norms and securing long-term demand from healthcare systems,” he concludes.