The UK’s first medicine packet recycling program is successfully rolling out across the country, as an increasing number of pharmacies participate.
In January, global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi Consumer Healthcare UK and recycling innovators TerraCycle joined forces to launch the ‘Little Packs, Big Impact’ initiative. The program allows customers to recycle their empty over-the-counter and prescription medicine blister packets conveniently by dropping them off in dedicated bins at their local participating pharmacy.
These empty blister packs are then transformed into reusable raw materials using a unique recycling process – preventing the packets from spending a lifetime in the landfill. Sanofi UK, makers of Dulcolax and Buscopan, is the first to market this genius sustainability initiative, which aims to gain 400 different pharmacy drop-off recycling points across the nation by the end of this year.
Silvina Vilas, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare’s UK Marketing Director, said:
“The Little Packs, Big Impact recycling initiative with TerraCycle is a significant move forward for the healthcare industry. So many people rely on medicines to manage self-treatable and long-term conditions, yet until now, there hasn’t been a solution for the growing problem of medicine packaging waste. We believe in a healthy gut and a healthy planet, so we are starting a movement to make it easier for people to recycle blister packs.
The UK’s network of pharmacies has been keeping the nation on its feet during these challenging times. Working together with pharmacy teams and the public, our ambition is to help reduce plastic waste from landfills by letting little packs live again as reusable products, from waste bins to outdoor furniture, resulting in a big positive impact on the environment.
Reducing Plastic Waste
Research conducted by Dulcolax and Buscopan with 2,000 adults revealed that 65% use medicines in blister packs at least once a week. This medicine is taken for common conditions, including digestive health (43%), hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis (50%), and headaches/migraines (85%). As a result, these conditions are ranked as some of the most significant contributors to packaging waste.
However, the Little Packs Big Impact recycling initiative addresses consumers’ concerns about their contribution toward the rising global plastic waste.
The research (conducted pre-COVID-19 measures) found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of consumers have become more conscious about the significance of recycling over the past year. As a result, 83% of consumers now bring personal bags to the supermarket to avoid using plastic bags, 47% buy brands with recycled or recyclable packaging, and 60% reduce their plastic use overall.
Laure Cucuron, the General Manager of TerraCycle Europe, explained:
“Blister packs are made of a complex mix of difficult-to-recycle materials required to protect medicines, including plastic and aluminum foil, which are not accepted by most council recycling systems, so they end up in household waste.
Blister pack recycling has been something that the public has long been asking TerraCycle to add to its roster of recycling options. Now pharmacies and their customers can both play their part to help the environment with a small change by recycling empty blister packs through the Little Packs Big Impact scheme for the first time.”
How To Participate
UK Pharmacies can join this program in three simple steps via the TerraCycle website. Once registration is complete, they will appear on an online interactive map, allowing customers to locate their nearest participating pharmacy drop-off point. So far, there are 195 participating locations.
Furthermore, participating pharmacies can order a branded collection bin and download resources such as promotional posters from the website. When the bins are full of empty blister packs, pharmacies can download free shipping labels to send them off to be recycled.
Here’s the best part of all, for each shipment of empty packs from a pharmacy (meeting minimum weight requirements) TerraCycle will add points to their account, which can be redeemed as a cash reward to the school, charity, or non-profit of their choice.
Other Recycled Medicine Packaging Developments
Last year, Natupharma, a nutrition, supplements, and ECO packaging supplier, developed an innovative recyclable plastic called ‘green plastic’ for pharmaceutical packaging.
The alternative plastic is made by combining sugarcane with a biodegradable plastic additive. When processed in a certain way, sugarcane can be transformed into a commercial material that is both recyclable and CO2-neutral.
This additive enables microbes in the natural environment to secrete acids and consume the ‘green plastic,’ converting it into carbon dioxide, methane, biomass, and water in less than ten years. A decade may seem like a long time, but it’s much faster than petroleum plastic, which can take hundreds of years to degrade.
