Eco-friendly and sustainably produced pharmaceutical packaging

Plastics derived from fossil fuels predominate in the pharmaceutical packaging sector as blister materials, bottles, and other containers. Packaging pollution comes from just four sources: gases evolved in the production of materials, the mishandling and capture of waste leading to the environmental proliferation of pollutant particles, the leaching of additives from within the plastic, which can act as hormone mimics, and the combustion of materials leading to the production of climate-altering gases. Eco-friendly pharmaceutical packaging should be minimalistic but provide protection, be reused, be fully recyclable, depend on segregation, and avoid ineffective landfill disposal or circumvent unnecessary incineration. The production of energy from unsorted waste comes at the expense of producing environmentally impactful pollution. A potentially better alternative is to make better use of renewable materials and renewable forms of energy to manufacture materials. These include the bioplastics that are seen as a viable route out of a cycle of unsustainable practice.