Industry Outlook: Sustainable Packaging Reaches Pharmaceuticals and ...

Tag : Specialty Fabric

Reducing material consumption is where some companies start.Johnson & Johnson has been minimizing packaging use for morethan 10 years, claims the company’s 2007 sustainabilityreport. “We have made strides to reduce the size of ourpackaging [and] the weight of our packaging.”
Others are, too. “We have to use less material,” saysone healthcare products packaging professional. “We arelooking at product life cycles in terms of solid waste as well asenergy and emissions.”
Alcan’s Hoard and his team work to support such requests.“Generally, we are working on reducing the weight of plasticsused. However, we are also in discussions with a few pharma firmson other new sustainable developments.”
Packaging industries have been reducing costs for years throughefforts to downgauge films, eliminate overpackaging, and reduceweight. As material compositions and formulations evolve, engineersare often able to get comparable or even improved strength andbarrier properties out of thinner or lighter materials. Rigidpackaging has turned flexible, and extended-content labeling hasoften cut out secondary cartons.
These business-minded measures play into sustainability.“Sustainability is very closely aligned to managingcosts,” says Johnson. “In this era of high energy andmaterial costs, you learn a lot about being efficient.”
Rory Wolf believes that sustainability needs to be a focus in thepharmaceutical and medical device packaging industries. “Forthese industries in particular, building in sustainability meansreducing the amount of material or energy used, decreasing waste,and minimizing air emissions,” says Wolf, who serves as vicepresident of business development and technology manager ofatmospheric plasma and flame systems for Enercon Industries Corp.(Menomonee Falls, WI). The firm provides surface treatment,induction cap sealing, and power supply technologies. “It ismore important than ever for OEMs and converters to consider thematerials that go into products. Material selection is an integralpart of the total product life cycle and the move towardsustainability. Using renewable resources, downgauging, andreducing emissions are key sustainability initiatives underway inthese industries.”
Wolf is chairing a workshop on sustainability at the TAPPI PLACE(Polymers, Laminations, Adhesives, Coatings, and Extrusions)Conference on September 16 in Portsmouth, VA. TAPPI is anassociation that serves the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging, andconverting industries.
Josephine Lee, director of marketing, Pregis Corp., ProtectivePackaging North America, says that when her company startedreviewing sustainability, “we realized that packaging is acomponent of a larger picture. It encompasses all aspects of thelife cycle, including raw material sourcing, product manufacture,transportation, and end-use disposal. We found, through processesalready in place, that we were already actively engaged in sourcereduction, waste minimization, recycling, and resourceconservation.”
Manufacturers are asking about sustainability in their“requests for information,” reports Narendra Srivatsa,director of packaging solutions for Cortegra (Fairfield, NJ).“Many pharma companies are in a wait-and-watch mode, butrunning a lean process is clearly key to them. Companies want toknow how we are using less to make more.” Initiatives atCortegra include upgrading manufacturing equipment to reduce scraprates and maintain operational excellence, he adds.
Regardless of their industry, Multivac’s customers have beentrying to reduce waste on their packaging lines as much aspossible, reports Hirsh. “Every major corporation is lookingto maximize their film utilization during thermoforming. It issmart business. Their goal is a secure, reliable package with lowercosts.” Such material conservation is a move towardsustainability, he adds.
Hirsh says that downgauging film gauge is common, as are materialchanges, but such moves vary from case to case. “It may makesense to revalidate, particularly if a material or suppliercontract is ending,” he explains. But running a moresustainable packaging line may in fact just involve “usingthe same film, but using it smarter, with less waste,” hesays.
“High-performance materials are needed fordowngauging,” adds Hanson, “which can help with sourcereduction.” Eastman copolyester has been used in thin-filmtrays, he adds.
Several companies have already been asking IMA to “decreasethe total quantity of packaging materials,” says AgostinoConsolini, marketing director for IMA Safe Packaging Solutions.“Sustainability has been part of the activities of the IMAGroup for quite some time now.” IMA has been training servicemanagers to help companies optimize packaging processes, increaseproduction efficiency, and reduce packaging waste.
Printer and contract packager Howell Packaging (Elmira, NY) has ascrap-handling program in its paperboard conversion operation thatJoe Lally, marketing manager, packaging for pharmaceuticals, calls“extremely efficient and effective in capturing allpaperboard waste.” He adds that the by-product provides thenecessary base material for the production of many recycled gradesof paperboard. “Since Howell Packaging is also a contractpackager, we naturally look toward achieving efficiencies inassembly operations that directly support sustainability goals byreducing waste and energy consumption,” Lally says.
Hospira has a number of initiatives to reduce packaging waste. Forinstance, Hospira developed its VisIV container using a polyolefinmaterial instead of PVC, which enabled the company to eliminate anoverwrap because of the increase in barrier properties. “Ifthe whole market moved to it, we estimate that 20 million pounds ofplastic could be saved each year,” says Robert Felicelli,vice president and general manager of specialty pharmaceuticals forthe Americas.
Printing in-line could help companies reduce inventory waste, asthey print only what they need, says Jim Umbdenstock, president ofGriffin-Rutgers Inc. (Ronkonkoma, NY). “Customers may nothave been calling this a sustainability measure, but moving awayfrom preprinted materials means wasting less material.” Hepoints out that in-line printing is not a new trend.
Joseph Buono, sales manager of CSAT America LLC (Louisville, CO),says that “as you print all of your information on the fly,you eliminate the need for preprinted materials that become out ofdate or subject to change. Only virgin materials are stored andused just in time.” CSAT’s digital printing systems userecyclable consumables and nontoxic toners.
Peter Buczynsky sees a tremendous amount of waste generated whenchanging packaging lines from one format to another.“Oftentimes, a thermoforming line runs for extended periodsof time while an operator or mechanic attempts to get all of thestations set up properly and aligned to produce an acceptablepackage,” says Buczynsky, president of Micron PharmaWorksInc. (Odessa, FL). In addition, “waste is generated whenqualifying and testing vision systems during format setup orswitches,” he says. “Here again, the machines arecycled for extended cycles in order to verify that product isproperly rejected. Usually this means that hundreds of pounds ofmaterial (PVC, Aclar, aluminum, etc.) are sealed to each other,leading to additional difficulties in recycling.”
Micron PharmaWorks uses Scanware vision systems, which offer a newin-process control feature. “This dramatically reduces theentire qualifying procedure, allowing multiple qualification orreject tests to be performed simultaneously rather thanindividually,” Buczynsky explains. “The systemgenerates a report afterwards, indicating details of the test. Thisdramatically reduces the typical scrap generated between the visionsystem and reject station for each product to be tested. And youcan imagine the number of combinations of tests that need to beperformed on sensitive product setups.”
Grinnan of MWV Healthcare says that “well-designed packagingshould be easily implemented into existing equipment, maximizingefficiencies wherever possible. At MWV, packages are designed torun easily on most existing line equipment so manufacturers canmaintain efficient, speedy, and economical processing on productionlines.”
Packagers would also welcome machinery developments that improvespeed. “We need to keep our lines moving,” says onepackager, whose company makes pharmaceuticals, medical devices, andnutritional products. “We are looking to use less material,so we need better line speeds and forming processes for thin films.We are also looking for deeper draws, and we need more-uniformfinished containers at high speeds.”
This packager says he would love to switch some products to pouchesinstead of bottles, but cannot achieve the speeds he wants withoutincreasing costs.
Reducing weight is another sustainability consideration, saysStagnaro of Klöckner Pentaplast. “When comparingmaterials, there are rarely clear-cut winners. You are rarely goingto find one across the board that is the best. Some materialsrequire a lot of water, others use more energy or generate moregreenhouse gas emissions, for instance. You also may be comparing alightweight nonrecyclable material with a heavyweight recyclableone. An excellent rule of thumb is to consider thepackage-to-product weight ratio.”
“Companies can choose smaller and lighter shipper designs tosave transport costs, and they can also generate less waste,”reports Bill Hingle, marketing manager for TCP Reliable (Edison,NJ). “With the proper design, they can use less foam andfewer gel packs.” To calculate the real savings, Hingle saysthat companies need to look at total transportation costs.
For instance, Hingle compares his company’s Timesaver 72-hourshipper with Phase 5 cooling units with its Timesaver 24-hourshipper. “The 72-hour shipper has twice the capacity andthree times the temperature control time, yet it is only slightlyheavier: 34 lb compared with the 25-lb 24-hour shipper. You canship more and avoid paying for expedited delivery.”
TCP’s Phase 5 is filled with a material that undergoes phasechange at 5°C. “Because it can hold 5°C longer than aconventional phase-change material (which undergoes phase change at0°C, and has very little heat capacity at 5°C),significantly less material is required,” reads the companyWeb site. Because products can come in contact with Phase 5 withoutfreezing, no dunnage or air gaps are needed, so shippers can becompact.
Grinnan says products are often packaged in excessive tertiarymaterials for shipping. “Often [these materials] fail toprotect product, resulting in damaged goods or the need torepackage. MWV works with firms to reengineer packaging to be moreefficient and lighter weight and to provide excellent performanceto protect product. The result is a reduction in materials and theability to ship more per load, contributing to an overall lightercarbon footprint.”
Lee says that Pregis is focusing on logistics and shippingimprovements. “Company experts have timed production andreconfigured shipping routes to minimize the number of trucks onthe road and distances travelled. Further, cube utilization hasbeen maximized to help curb rising transportation costs. In 2007,compared to 2006, Pregis consumed 93,000 fewer gallons of dieselfuel, thereby reducing CO2 emissions by 2.1 million pounds.”In July, Pregis launched Astro-Bubble Green, an first-everair-cushioning bubble material containing up to 40% recycledcontent, but no less than 30% (depending on content availability).
Other suppliers say that some packaging formats may save shippingspace and weight on their way to manufacturers or othersupply-chain partners. Shipping rolls of film requires less fueland space during transport than does transporting formed yetunfinished or filled packages, says Hirsh from Multivac.
Similarly, Grinnan from MWV says that “prefilled blisterpackages stack, store, and can be shipped more efficiently thantraditional amber vials.”
“In order to be sustainable, we need a deep understanding ofour customers’ needs so that together we can find the rightsolution,” says Sharpless of Reynolds. Right could mean“a packaging solution that enhances source reduction throughlightweighting or rightgauging, a packaging solution that improvesbarrier and protection properties so other packaging components canbe modified, a flexible packaging solution that relies less onfossil fuel, or packaging solutions that are biodegradable ormanufactured from renewable resources.” Sharpless points outthat Reynolds’s two-ply lidding specification, Safety-PakPlus, removes a layer of material and provides greaterfunctionality versus the typical industry 3-ply product.
REUSE
Reuse may be on some companies’ sustainability checklists.This year, the Reusable Pallet & Container Coalition (RPCC)renamed its efforts by becoming the Reusable Packaging Association(RPA). According to the RPA, reusable packaging is “thepreferred solution for moving, storing, and handling productthroughout the entire supply chain.”
To reduce the percentage of packaging material and the waste itgenerates, Schreiner MediPharm (Blauvelt, NY) and its parentcompany, Schreiner Group, increasingly use returnable packaging forshipping products.
TCP Reliable is evaluating the feasibility of reconditioningcustomer shipping containers for reuse, reports Hingle. “Itcan be viable for packaging to be reused as part of a closed-loopsystem,” he says. “In addition, clients are exploringother types of reuse to keep overall packaging costs down, but theymust assess total economic costs. Reuse can offset other costs likedisposal. But then the feasibility of paying for the transport ofused, empty containers must be considered.”
Reuse efforts may entail utilizing existing machinery and upgradingit to run more efficiently. “Existing machinery [can] beenhanced to dramatically increase efficiency and flexibility whilesimultaneously reducing overall waste,” says Buczynsky.Micron PharmaWorks will be showing new developments in this area atPack Expo.
For instance, “almost all of the thermoformers that leave theMicron PharmaWorks facility—either new or rebuiltthermoformers—employ rotary servo indexing technology, whichensures accurate compensation for material shrinkage,” hecontinues. “Without this technology, many blisters arerejected owing to sealing overloads and misregistration. ”
Efficiencies can reduce energy consumption. But so can energyreuse. Hirsh reports that Multivac has devised a way to recirculatesteam back into its tunnel machinery used for shrink films.“Steam used to vent into the room and heat it up, requiringair conditioning for that room. We can now direct that steam backinto the machine, resulting in an overall energy savings of up to65%.”
REMOVE
The pharmaceutical and medical packaging industries are looking atalternatives to traditionally used materials for a variety ofcontainers and components. Some companies are hoping to use lessfossil fuel; others are trying to eliminate materials that mayhave—or are perceived to have—harmful environmentaleffects.
Replacing typically used materials isn’t easy. Alternativesmay not offer the same performance and cost. In addition, given thesafety and efficacy needs for pharmaceuticals and medical devices,manufacturers hesitate to experiment with new materials andprocesses that do not have a history of consistency andreliability.
In addition, if business needs for efficiency trump other effortsin company sustainability programs, new materials may struggle togain the upper hand.
Nonetheless, some manufacturers are pushing ahead. Johnson &Johnson is working to remove PVC from its primary packaging.
Wal-Mart expressed some concerns about PVC a few years ago. Whenasked about its current position, Wal-Mart officials pointpackagers to the scorecard. Wal-Mart may be focusing on totalpackaging sustainability rather than on dictating materialselection.
Because PVC forms and performs well at its cost point, eliminatingit from pharmaceutical and medical device packaging may not supportcost-efficiency efforts. In addition, point out some experts, PVChas a long history of safe use in packaging healthcare products, sowhy spend time and money to replace it? The Vinyl Institute reports25% of all medical products containing plastic are made with vinyl.
PVC could have a lower carbon footprint. Made from salt andrequiring less energy and resources to produce than other plastics,it may score favorably in terms of actual carbon used. There areconcerns about potentially harmful chemicals that could be used orreleased during PVC manufacturing, disposal, or incineration. Butsupporters point out that dioxin levels have dropped even thoughPVC production has increased, and that many PVC formulations do notinclude often-feared phthalates.
If sustainability programs expand in part because they offer costefficiencies, cutting PVC may not prevail.