Liz Cuneo: Thank you, everyone, for joining. I’m Liz Cuneo, editor-in-chief of Healthcare Packaging. I’m here with Ashleigh from SmartSolve and Victoria from Safetec.
We’re here to talk about your companies’ partnership and the technology behind the self-dissolving, zero-waste pouch stock, which is super interesting for many industries. Today, however, we’ll talk about the medical implications.
Why don’t we begin with each of you introducing yourself and explaining your role at the company?
Ashleigh Hotz: Sure, I’ll go first. I’m Ashleigh Hotz, senior director of sales and marketing. I lead our commercial team, and I’ve been here for about five years. I really enjoy what we’re offering the market through innovative dispersing packaging technologies.
Liz: Awesome.
Victoria Robinson: I’m Victoria Robinson, and I’m the marketing manager at Safetec. We’re responsible for marketing all of the products, helping our sales team move those products forward, and getting our message out there about who we are as an American manufacturer.
Liz: Awesome. You are the product experts here, so let’s start with you, Ashleigh. How does the self-dissolving pouch stock work? What is it doing, and how does it dissolve?
Ashleigh: I love that question. Everything in the SmartSolve portfolio is paper-based and water-soluble, and that’s not exactly a household term yet. We hope that changes, but most people don’t know there is technically a dissolving paper available because it has typically been used in back-of-house applications rather than in front of the public.
Essentially, it consists of paper wood-pulp fibers that have a unique fiber structure. They are put together with an ingredient called carboxymethyl cellulose and a little sodium.
You can think of it like a chain-link fence—I’m using my hands here. Once the material comes into contact with water, those wood-pulp fibers begin to separate, but they remain. Everything that remains is flushable according to the highest standards of flushability.
You ladies would laugh. I know a silly amount about flushability. It’s a really fun topic.
Liz: Who would have thought?
Ashleigh: There are standards for what is flushable, and our materials meet and actually exceed the same standards against which toilet paper and wipes are evaluated. There are a couple of standards, but we won’t go into those today.
That is essentially how the material works. We then coat that material to create different technologies. We have pressure-sensitive labels, as well as the flexible packaging material Safetec is using today.
Liz: Awesome. Victoria, why did Safetec choose this material, and how does it work for your specific product?
Victoria: We chose this material because of the challenges that exist in the healthcare space. When you’re in an operating room, things are moving quickly. There is a lot of blood and potentially infectious bodily fluid.
The feedback from end users was that they needed something that would work quickly, help them turn over operating rooms, support OSHA compliance, and keep workers safe.
The previous format was a pouch that you had to cut open, measure out according to how much you needed for the canister, and then pour it in. We were looking for something that would eliminate the need to cut, measure, and pour while making sure the amount was accurate for the container.
With SmartSolve’s packaging, we were able to put our medical-grade solidifier inside this convenient package. You literally drop it in and let it do its thing. There is no cutting, measuring, weighing, or trying to fit everything through a tiny opening. It helps healthcare workers complete the process much faster and more safely.
Liz: How long does it take to fully solidify the contents of the container?
Victoria: It depends on how much liquid is in the container, but I’ve seen it take anywhere from 30 seconds to one minute. It works much more quickly because the packaging dissolves so fast in the liquid, allowing the solidifier to reach the contents much sooner.
Liz: You mentioned some of the challenges involved in medical waste disposal, as well as OSHA requirements and worker safety. What are some of the other challenges associated with medical waste disposal?
Victoria: OSHA compliance is probably the biggest one. When you think about medical waste in its original form, it is liquid.
Think about handling liquids in everyday life. You’re in your kitchen, you drop a gallon of milk on the floor, and the next thing you know, it has splattered everywhere and created a huge mess to clean up.
It’s the same idea in the medical space. If you have liquid bodily fluids and the container drops or spills, or if there is a hole in the bag, the contents can splash and go everywhere. That isn’t safe for patients or healthcare workers.
When you solidify the product, it helps alleviate some of the potential for exposure to infectious waste if it spills or splashes.
The second major concern, as I mentioned, is turning over operating rooms faster. When you’re performing surgeries, you’re trying to move patients through the space quickly and efficiently. Having a product that solidifies waste quickly is very important.
Liz: Absolutely. It sounds like you were already using a product that workers would open and dump into the canister. You’ve been using the solidification technology for a while, but what is new is that the package eliminates a step, saves time, and leaves no packaging waste from cutting open and throwing away a pouch. Is that correct?
Victoria: Yes. In addition to the pouch format, we also offer many of our solidifiers in bottles. This format reduces the cost associated with disposing of plastic, whether you’re using a bottle or a pour-in pouch. You’re eliminating the need to dispose of those packaging materials once you’re finished.
It’s more environmentally friendly, which has been great for our customers.
Liz: That’s really cool. Ashleigh, I’ll send a question your way. It’s such an interesting product, and I know SmartSolve works in many different markets. Was this your first application in medical waste disposal or an operating room setting?
Ashleigh: Yes, it was. We’ve been working with Safetec since around 2017, which predates me joining the company. The application has been here for as long as I have, and I’ve always found it fascinating.
There is interest, and we have had some other conversations. But this packaging and this particular application just make perfect sense together.
Liz: It’s cool to see. I’ve never seen anything like it. Medical waste disposal isn’t something I think about every day or fully understand, but it’s interesting to see a specific problem paired with a great solution.
Going back to you, Victoria, can you quantify the impact the drop-in format has had on worker safety, spill reduction, and process efficiency compared with traditional tear-open solidifier packets? I know it is better overall, but is there any supporting data?
Victoria: It has had a significant impact in healthcare facilities. As I’ve mentioned, it creates less waste from spilling solidifier while trying to get it through a specific opening.
There is no need to open the package or measure the correct amount because it is prefilled. What is also really useful is that its proportions fit perfectly into the porthole of a suction canister.
It fits perfectly. You literally drop it in. The dimensions leave enough room around the package for it to pass through the opening, and then it starts doing its job.
It also helps with room turnaround time. Healthcare workers spend less time measuring, pouring, cutting open packages, or struggling when they can’t get a package open. That is time they would otherwise lose. It has been very helpful in allowing them to complete the process much faster.
Liz: Have you received any specific feedback from operating room workers about the product’s usability?
Victoria: Not very specifically. Unfortunately, we don’t get people writing to us and raving about our products as much as we would probably like.
However, from talking with the sales team, I know people absolutely love it. When people don’t know about it and then learn about it, they love the product because of the benefits I’ve mentioned.
It makes the process so much easier. For people who have been using a traditional cut-and-pour pouch, this is much easier. As I said, you literally take it, drop it in, and it goes to work.
Liz: I hear a lot about limited space and limited time in operating rooms, so it sounds like this addresses both, which is interesting.
Ashleigh, let’s switch over to sustainability. I don’t know how much sustainability was the original goal of the project, but as healthcare organizations pursue sustainability, how do SmartSolve’s water-soluble materials compare with conventional plastic or paper-based packaging in terms of waste reduction and end of life?
Ashleigh: I love, love, love this question. You’ve teed me up to talk about it.
The honest answer is that the major difference is at end of life. That is where conventional packaging is falling short in healthcare and other markets because so much of it is made from multiple materials.
It might be film laminated to foil or paper bonded to plastic. These mixed-material laminates are very difficult to recycle. When you look at recycling rates, we’re talking about roughly 9% globally, and that isn’t limited to this specific market.
Our materials approach the issue from a different angle. They are designed to dissolve in water and biodegrade. Instead of persisting in the environment like a mixed material, they break down and move through the system, whether that involves a waterway or another means of eliminating waste.
From the standpoint of a healthcare organization measuring its footprint, that changes both the volume of durable waste headed to a landfill and the environmental profile of what is left behind.
Compared with conventional plastic, the headline is very different. Traditional plastics fragment and remain in landfills. Our materials biodegrade very quickly.
Liz: There has also been a lot of discussion about extended producer responsibility, or EPR, across packaging—not just in healthcare. When we talk about end of life, the viewpoint is increasingly that manufacturers need to understand where their packaging and materials ultimately end up.
With this material, the packaging is gone. It has completely dissolved, so it is timely considering what is happening with EPR.
Ashleigh: There is also a lot of discussion about microplastics. Microplastics are everywhere, including in our bodies.
Five years ago, the average consumer may have been concerned primarily about sea turtles. We’re now more concerned about people because these materials are ending up in our major organs, breast milk, and throughout our bodies. Not that we don’t love the sea turtles.
I’ve personally gone through and eliminated as much plastic as possible from my kitchen, using glass instead for my family.
That is at the consumer level, and I know we’re talking about healthcare, but wherever we can eliminate plastic, that is the angle we’re considering.
Victoria: Definitely. I wish we could use this product in more of our products so they could be more sustainable and biodegradable because plastics are such an issue.
Hopefully, the technology will continue advancing, and we’ll be able to use the product in more ways than we currently can.
Ashleigh: I love that.
Liz: Absolutely. We write a lot about single-use plastics in healthcare. Plastics are prevalent in every industry, but definitely in healthcare and hospital settings. It is interesting to see a different packaging material and substrate for the industry.
Ashleigh, do you see opportunities for this dissolvable packaging technology to expand into other healthcare applications, such as infection prevention products, sterile processing, or pharmaceutical packaging? What challenges would need to be addressed first?
Ashleigh: I definitely see opportunities in healthcare. One of the current challenges is that it is not a sterile material, so we probably aren’t going to use it to hold medical instruments.
Where I do see opportunities is in pharmaceutical packaging. Perhaps we could be the outer material for a kit. The medical components would still be primarily wrapped in something sterile, but there is a lot of kitting in healthcare. We could potentially be the wrapper that holds all of those components together, creating a waste reduction opportunity.
There are also many opportunities in pharmaceutical packaging, where metallized laminated structures are common today. We could potentially be the pouch that holds certain products.
I think there are a lot of applications. I’m not a healthcare expert by any means, but hopefully this creates interest and gets people thinking about single-use, temporary packaging that may not require extensive barrier properties.
Barrier performance is another challenge. Moisture and oxygen barrier properties are important throughout the packaging industry, and historically, our lack of those properties has been a barrier for us.
We are introducing new technologies in 2027 that will increase barrier properties while maintaining dispersibility and flushability. That is an exciting development that I think will also open doors in food packaging.
Liz: I was wondering about that. Thinking about this application, I have small packets of supplements that I have to tear open and dump into a drink. That is completely fine, but could there be a future in which I could drop the entire packet into the drink for a nutraceutical application?
Ashleigh: Yes, we’re working on some opportunities today. It will depend on shelf life and how the product is used.
Our material tends to be something people want to poke, prod, and throw into a cryogenic chamber as they explore developing new products with it. We understand that. It is an innovation, and it is very unique.
I do think increased barrier properties are going to open the door to applications such as nutraceuticals and drink mixes. There is tremendous growth in that market as well.
Liz: That’s really cool. My final question was for both of you, but we’ve already touched on it. How much is sustainability part of the conversation today when companies are discussing new life sciences packages or products?
You have both alluded to the fact that it is definitely part of the conversation. Do you have any other final comments on the sustainability angle?
Victoria: For us, we aren’t really a retail product manufacturer, so we don’t find it to be a huge discussion topic because we aren’t in that specific market.
However, many of our larger healthcare distributors have their own sustainability policies, and they expect their suppliers to align with those policies.
This isn’t necessarily limited to packaging, but we participate in many of the sustainability audits they request. It is nice when we can say that we have a product in which we are considering sustainability and implementing it into our products.
Would we love to do it more? Absolutely, if we can find a way. It is definitely a conversation that is on everyone’s mind right now.
Liz: Are the audits focused more on your manufacturing processes and the systems in place at your facilities?
Victoria: Yes. We participate in SMETA, the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit. They come in and examine how we are treating workers socially, what we are doing for waste management, how we are participating in the world as a manufacturer, and whether we are doing the best we can to minimize our footprint and avoid leaving excessive waste behind.
Liz: Very interesting.
Ashleigh: From our standpoint, sustainability is always part of the conversation, but we’ve noticed a subtle shift. Sustainability used to be the main focus, but now we’re not sure people are willing to pay strictly for sustainability.
What they really want is convenience. Brands may push sustainability, and that is great, but it is also about convenience and developing an experience.
I think that is true in healthcare settings as well. An operating room worker may say, “The experience of dumping this other product into the canister isn’t great. I’m making a mess.” With this product, you have created a convenient experience in which it is easy for workers to simply drop the pouch into the canister.
That is also true in other markets SmartSolve serves. It isn’t just sustainability, although that is important. It is convenience and the overall experience.
The cherry on top is the entire EPR landscape. Extended producer responsibility is here. It is in seven states, and it isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it is only going to increase.
A lot of brands are freaking out, to put it mildly, because they are trying to determine how to sell into multiple states across the United States when EPR requirements aren’t harmonized. The requirements look different in every state.
From our perspective, we see that as a potential benefit for our materials. States such as California are saying that packaging must be compostable or recyclable by 2030 or 2032, depending on the requirement, or producers will pay fees.
We’re looking at whether our materials, especially our latest material, Puril, could qualify for an exemption or what is called an eco-modulated fee. Under that approach, companies may pay a lower fee because they are using a more environmentally favorable material.
Those fees go back into funding infrastructure intended to create greater circularity.
There is a lot coming. I think brands that prepare for that environment are going to be better positioned for it, and we’re assessing it as well.
None of this is written in stone yet. Many things are still moving, but our initial investigation suggests that our materials will offer a benefit in those states.
Liz: Definitely. I think you’re right that sustainability is a buzz—I don’t want to say it is a buzzword—but we’ve been talking about it for a long time. It is always one of those goals companies are striving toward.
At the end of the day, however, patient safety is the top priority in healthcare. Right alongside that is worker and user safety. In this application, that includes the operating room employees who use the product, as well as patient safety and keeping the operating room clean.
Victoria: It is both. You have to think not only about healthcare workers but also the patients who are present. You need to protect both groups and keep them safe because there is a risk when you are dealing with blood and bodily fluids.
That is really how we got started. Our solidifier originated during the AIDS epidemic as an effort to find something that could keep healthcare workers safe. Blood was highly infectious, and workers didn’t necessarily know who was infected and who was not.
That is where the product originated. It is nice to see the transition. We went from creating a solidifier that helped solve one problem to developing different packaging types that solve another problem and make the product easier to use.
Ashleigh: It’s incredible.
Liz: That is really interesting. I did not know that, so it is interesting to see how the product has evolved.
