Three key aspects when designing sustainable healthcare packaging
Alexander Schmidt and Michael Degener, product development & technical support, Coveris, explains the process behind designing packaging for the healthcare industry.
According to the Healthcare Plastic Recycling Council design guidelines, medical packaging producers are obliged to follow specific rules when designing packaging solutions for healthcare products. The key mentioned demands include switching to monomaterials whenever possible, allowing easy separation during recycling process and minimising the use of adhesives and inks.
The topic of packaging recyclability is just one aspect of the process, though. Another is the product safety, which must be safeguarded by the optimal choice of available sterilisation method, and the overall packaging convenience for end-users.
Sustainable packaging materials at the forefront
“At Coveris we take sustainability very seriously and focus on developing monomaterial solutions that offer up to 90% recyclability. The unquestionable benefit of mono structure is the fact, that the material can be added to the recycling circle and reused, if necessary, to produce a new material”, explained Schmidt.
A good example are the packaging solutions recently introduced at Compamed trade show: the Formpeel T film, designed for bulk medical devices, and the Flexopeel T pouch film, both based on 100% PE material. Besides their sustainable benefits, they also allow easy processing on all conventional FFS lines, low re-shrinking and improved puncture resistance compared to standard PE. These solutions also perfectly fit with Ethylene Oxide (ETO) sterilisation, as well as X-ray and gamma irradiation.
The advantage of monomaterials versus multi-layered structures was confirmed by Institute Cyclos-HTP, which proved in its research that monomaterial solutions can help save up to 48,000 tonnes of packaging waste.
Optimal sterilisation for every medical product
Once the sustainable packaging material is chosen, the healthcare companies need to select the optimal type of sterilisation to enhance their product protection.
Coveris offer packaging systems that provide microbial barrier, long-term stability, good performance during transport and work with three different types of sterilisation: high temperature (steam), ETO gas or irradiation (gamma or X-ray). However, due to different product needs, not every sterilisation type can be used.
For example, surgical instruments are usually sterilised using high temperature (up to 134 degrees Celsius) from steam autoclave. This type of sterilisation is not only environmentally safe but also very cost-effective, reliable, and fast.
Still, it is not adequate for heat-sensitive materials, like syringes or tubes, which are sterilised using chemicals instead, like ethylene oxide gas. Although it safely eliminates bacteria in low temperatures (up to 60 degrees Celsius), it is a long and expensive process (can last up to 18 hours to complete) and may leave toxic residues than can contaminate the environment.
For single-use products like implants, gloves or IV systems, Coveris suggests gamma and X-ray radiation. “This method allows sterilisation even in lower temperatures from 30-40 degrees Celsius, comparable to using gas, takes usually less time to process (up to few hours) and is technically simpler and more cost-effective.”, summarised Degener.
Convenience tailored to individual needs
An equally important topic in designing the optimal medical packaging is usability, which can be enhanced by adding easy opening features, improving resistance to external factors or simplifying identification of the contents.
Additionally, the optimal packaging needs to eliminate potential contamination during its long-term storage. This can be achieved by hermetical sealing that ensures microbial impermeability.
Flexopeel film solution, for example, can offer up to 10 years of product shelf life, depending on individual product features.
Last, but not least, a truly convenient medial packaging should allow fast identification of the content. “This can be achieved by adding colour indicators, like in our Medipeel pouches and tubes, that reduce the time-consuming application of labels. An alternative solution is a transparent pouch or bag that allows immediate identification”, added Degener.