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Challenge to Change: Advancing Sustainable Blister Packaging

pills in blisterpacks in a pilephoto credit: Global Self-Care Federation

The Global Self-Care Federation (GSCF), under its Charter for Environmentally Sustainable Self-Care, spearheaded a pioneering initiative to enhance the environmental performance of blister packaging used in consumer healthcare products. This initiative brings together research, policy analysis, and practical insights to enable the transition to recyclable alternatives. These resources are designed to guide and inspire stakeholders across the value chain in advancing sustainable packaging solutions. 
 
Blister packs are widely used for ensuring quality, safety and efficacy standards of medicines and their affordability, and effective barrier protection. However, current PVC/Alu formats pose significant challenges in terms of environmental impact and recyclability. GSCF’s initiative represents the self-care industry's first industry-wide coordinated effort to address collective action around transition. These open-access materials aim to inform and empower industry leaders, policymakers, and sustainability advocates to drive meaningful progress toward more sustainable packaging in consumer healthcare. 
  
Links to More Information: 

  • Summary Paper: an introductory overview of the project, outlining GSCF’s sustainability goals, the scope of research conducted, and how these materials collectively support the move towards sustainable blister packaging. 

  • GSCF Position Paper: a strategic vision for the consumer health sector’s transition toward sustainable plastic packaging, highlighting regulatory challenges and opportunities for policy innovation. 

  • The Science Behind PVC-Free Blisters: a deep-dive into the environmental and health impacts of PVC, including Life Cycle Analysis of alternative materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, fibre-based, and aluminium solutions. 

  • Sorting Report: real-world testing of how different blister designs behave in recycling systems across the UK, Germany and France. These trials inform viability of mono-material blisters in automated sorting facilities. 

  • Contamination Testing: two technical reports (part 1/ part 2) from Smithers examine the potential for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) contamination in recycled packaging and assess risks from various materials and handling conditions. 

  • Take Back Scheme Trials: a visual review of findings of 1,000 randomly collected used blister packs. This underscores the importance of clean disposal pathways and consumer education. 

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