Does fibre-based packaging hold the key to a sustainable future for pharma?

The global drive for sustainability is impossible to ignore. It plays an increasingly noticeable role in the way each of us lives our lives, from the cars we drive to the food we eat. And, while the health of patients is still the number one priority for the industry, now is the time for pharma companies to seize this vital moment and prioritise the health of the planet, too.

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposal published by the EC on 30th November last year is set to shake up pharma packaging and once approved in its final version will be phased in from 2025. While there will likely be some amendments as the proposal makes its way into the statute books, the substance of the proposals is expected to remain the same. This means many core aspects of pharmaceutical packaging will fall within the scope of sustainability legislation for the first time.

PPWR and PPWD – what’s the difference?

PPWR is the EU’s attempt to overcome two key challenges. The first is the amount of packaging waste produced across Europe, which is high and growing. The second is the number of barriers to packaging circularity, meaning much of that waste ends up incinerated or landfilled. 

It follows the previous Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), the EU’s flagship packaging waste statute that first came into force in 1994. However, its effectiveness has proven to be limited. Eurostat figures highlight the wide disparities in recycling rates between Member States, which mean the EU as a whole is struggling to meet its current recycling targets – particularly in terms of plastic recycling, which lags well behind its target of a 50 per cent recycling rate before 2025.

To achieve its new goals, the EU has set new targets for both member states and businesses to aim for while expanding the scope of the regulations to consider healthcare products. PPWR also considers all types of packaging; primary, secondary, and tertiary. Member States must aim for incremental reductions in all packaging waste generated, cutting waste by 5 per cent per capita before 2030, 10 per cent before 2035, and 15 per cent before 2040. To help achieve this, several regulatory measures will be put in place to enforce compliance, giving PPWR more teeth than its predecessor.

What PPWR means for healthcare packaging

One is a ban on excessive packaging, which will mandate solutions that are scaled down to a minimum size or weight. This will promote a more utilitarian approach to packaging design, where no space is wasted. It means product protection features like double-walled packaging or false bottoms will become less viable and should be phased out unless absolutely necessary to protect the product. While it may require some creative rethinking of certain packaging designs and downgauging of plastic or board materials, this legislation should drive the development of innovative pharma packaging that is more cost-effective without compromising performance but also bearing in mind the recyclability of chosen materials.

Perhaps the most headline-grabbing aim of PPWR is its goal of decoupling growth from the consumption of resources – in other words, the pharma industry will need to more closely align with the principles of the circular economy. To accomplish this, PPWR calls for 100 per cent of pharma packaging to be designed for recycling (DfR Grade D or higher) by 2035 (for other sectors, the date is earlier: 2030) and able to demonstrate recyclability at scale.

This means pharma packaging must be designed to facilitate efficient recycling and be easy to collect and sort into separate waste streams. It must also result in secondary material that is of sufficient quality to substitute for primary material. Paper-based materials, used in cartons and corrugate, are the obvious choice to help the industry rethink its secondary and tertiary packaging. They are already capable of being recycled at scale – figures show 82 per cent of fibre-based packaging is recycled already – and can easily meet DfR criteria.

The issue of creating sustainable primary pharma packaging is more complex. PVC, PVDC, PS, multi-material multilayers, aluminium blister packs, and other common materials traditionally offer very poor recyclability but possess the barrier and hygiene attributes that many healthcare products demand. This creates a problem for the industry to solve – and to find a solution, pharmaceutical businesses must take notes from other industries which embraced this journey earlier.

Finding inspiration with fibre-based solutions

The food industry has been under pressure to become more sustainable for some time and especially to focus on the circularity of used packaging. While there is still much work to be done in the sector, this pressure has nonetheless driven many innovations that could be transferred to the healthcare industry.

The food packaging sector has been focused on developing innovative new fibre-based solutions that can offer equivalent performance to plastic. These materials can be used alone or combined with barrier coatings or mono-polymer films – to create hybrid solutions.

Should PPWR permit the inclusion of food-grade PE – which is chemically recycled to prevent contamination – following the requirements for including recycled content in the plastic parts in packaging, the food and pharma industry alike may also be able to consider post-consumer recycled content in the used flexible and barrier materials, which opens up more circular design possibilities.

At Graphic Packaging International, our experience in the global food industry alongside our pharma packaging expertise means we have seen – and been involved in – the development of many of these innovations that could be adapted to provide a more sustainable future for pharmaceutical products.

It is true that DfR alone is not enough. Waste collection and recycling infrastructures across Europe must become more sophisticated and able to accept more materials that may be contaminated by active substances – currently only collected in residual streams – by engaging in cross-industry collaboration. But these are unprecedented times, and they call for unprecedented action to secure a healthier future for our planet.

By embracing fibre-based innovations that have been successfully rolled out in other sectors, the pharmaceutical sector can navigate these uncharted waters while protecting its patients – and the planet that we all share. 

Disclaimer: Article based on the PPWR proposal published by the EC end of 2022 that is in current revision and may not represent the final status. The interpretation herein is based on our current best understanding and is not legally binding. Professional legal advice should be sought when considering the impact of the new regulation on specific packaging cases.