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Blister Package Recyclability Meets Machinability

Amcor and MHI partnered on trials to determine that a novel recycle-ready blister package could be produced in large capacities and at high speeds.

With AmSky, both the blister and lidding are composed of HDPE.
With AmSky, both the blister and lidding are composed of HDPE.

As pharmaceutical brand owners look to upgrade blister packaging to newer, more sustainable options—including lightweight, renewable, and recycle-ready offerings—many are facing questions about whether new materials can run on existing packaging machines.

With so many tried-and-true materials used in life sciences, machines are typically built to work with established packaging that has been on the market for years. The popular blister package is no exception, as an ironclad packaging system for tablets, capsules, and other oral solid dose (OSD) medicines and nutraceuticals. Blisters outperform bottles in protecting drugs against moisture, which is crucial for moisture-sensitive products, while also offering patient adherence benefits and child resistance.

In terms of sustainability, blister packaging has lagged over the past decade, but strides have been made in the R&D-intensive journey of developing high-performance blisters compatible with existing recycling streams.

A few companies have brought blisters with recyclability claims to the market —and even then, successfully balancing eco-friendliness with adequate barrier protection remains a challenge. From there, a final hurdle remains: the ability to actually produce the packaging in large capacities and at high speeds, also known as machinability. Simply put, a solution that can’t be reliably and rapidly reproduced at-scale isn’t really a solution. 

With this in mind, Amcor embarked on a journey with Maruho Hatsujyo Innovations, Inc. (MHI) to ensure its novel recycle-ready blister package could be processed on a commercial-scale packaging line.

Recycle-ready blister

Amcor is a developer and producer of packaging solutions for a variety of sectors, including pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. The company supplies a range of flexible and rigid packaging solutions, cartons, and closures.

Among Amcor’s offerings is blister packaging, and in April of 2021, the company introduced is recyclable AmSky™ Blister System. AmSky is a blister and lidding combination comprised entirely of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). By contrast, conventional systems typically involve a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) blister and an aluminum lid.

“The PVC/aluminum combination exemplifies blister packaging’s sustainability challenges, because, together, they are proven to protect drugs but suffer an exceedingly poor sustainability reputation,” says Michelle West, pharma product manager for Amcor Flexibles North America. “On the other hand, HDPE is a commonly recycled plastic in many existing streams; in the U.S., for example, HDPE can be placed in the ‘#2’ curbside plastic stream, which includes common items such as milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles. HDPE films also fit the PE film stream, currently a ‘store drop-off’ option in which consumers take relevant items to store drop-off locations, often at grocery stores, where they are collected and transported to recycling centers for processing.”