Pharmacy industry working towards better recycling practices

Representatives from 11 manufacturers in the pharmacy industry, all members of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), met this month to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to further closing the loop on recycling.

Organised and led by APCO, the roundtable discussion was the first in a series for the industry, with the aim of the day to understand the difficulties faced by these organisations in minimising and recycling the packaging created as part of their relevant businesses. Manufacturers represented at the roundtable included Ego Pharmaceuticals, CSL, Blackmores and Apotex, as well as the project manager of the Australian Return Unwanted Medicines project.

“This roundtable was the perfect forum to engage with our members in the pharmaceutical sector and discuss the current challenges in the waste and recycling landscape, including regulatory restrictions on packaging design and the use of recycled content,” said APCO CEO Brooke Donnelly. “The challenges are complex; however, we were able to identify opportunities to work together and communicate more clearly with consumers.”

The meeting was held at Ego Pharmaceuticals’ brand new headquarters and global distribution centre in Melbourne — a building designed with many innovative environmental solutions. According to the company’s managing director, Alan Oppenheim, “We are always striving to innovate and minimise our environmental footprint.

“Solar panels power the building and we use low-energy sensor lights,” said Oppenheim. “The entire 9000-pallet-capacity warehouse is temperature controlled without the use of air conditioning.

“The building faces west, so we had to balance heat and glare control. The whole design of the facade of the building leans forwards to create shadow for lower floors; we designed vertical wings to further reduce sun load; upper floors have only half-height glass; and windows are double glazed.”

Roundtable participants found the meeting valuable, as it was clear that everyone was working towards similar objectives. One potential ‘easy win’ identified at the meeting was the sharing of information between organisations and on to consumers about existing and free recycling programs, such as TerraCycle.

It was also agreed that the sector should support clear and targeted communication to help consumers understand how to deal with unwanted medicines and packaging. One initiative that could support this was the Return of Unwanted Medicines (RUM) program, which could be built on to communicate appropriate recycling behaviour to pharmacists and consumers alike. APCO highlighted that this could be done in tandem with its Packaging Recycling Label Program to ensure communications are consistent nationally.

Previous projects facilitated by APCO have resulted in a range of solutions, with industry shifts and tangible improvements for recycling and waste reduction, including contributions to government policy development. Utilising shared knowledge within the industry and looking at overseas case studies, it is hoped that the meeting helps the whole industry progress its efforts.

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