Can blister packs be recycled?

As a common packaging material on the market, blister packaging is widely used due to its superior barrier effect and independent packaging. But because blister packs are made of a complex combination of polymeric materials, including metal and plastic, recycling has been controversial. Can blister packs really be recycled?

In early 2021, global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi UK Consumer Healthcare and UK recycling innovator TerraCycle joined forces to launch the Small Package, Big Impact initiative. The program calls on consumers to conveniently recycle their empty over-the-counter and prescription drug blister packs by placing them in dedicated bins at participating local pharmacies.

Here we have to introduce TerraCycle first. TerraCycle is a company dedicated to recycling projects. Unlike common recycling, they develop recycling solutions for waste streams that cannot usually be recycled locally, and propose innovative recycling and solutions for materials.

Blister packaging has always been considered one of the non-recyclable materials because it contains polyvinyl chloride. TerraCycle's recycling method also requires sorting, where the collected blister packs are separated and cleaned by polymer type, and then the material is extruded into plastic pellets to make new recycled products.

In fact, the blister packaging in the pharmaceutical industry proposed to improve the plastic components and use degradable plastics for the production of packaging materials as early as a few years ago. However, due to the high application and manufacturing costs and difficulties in promotion, there has been no Widely used by pharmaceutical companies. This blister packaging recycling program, which emerged in the United Kingdom, has brought new possibilities to the low-carbon emissions of the global pharmaceutical packaging industry.