According to a 2017 article in National Geographic, “A Whopping 91% of Plastic Isn’t Recycled.” This includes a significant amount of medication packaging made from plastic resin. Many organizations have adopted sustainability initiatives to minimize their impact on the environment. Reducing the use of non-renewable resources is a common goal of most initiatives. Both blister packages and bottles are produced from plastic resin, and non-renewable resource. However, blister packages contain only a fraction of the amount of plastic material required to produce a bottle and cap. At a glance, it might seem that since blisters are recyclable they are less sustainable than bottles. After all, bottles tend to have and debossed triangle on the bottom with a number inside, which is commonly perceived and a recycling demarcation.

The problem with recycling plastic medicine bottles is that most curbside programs do not accept them. According to the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), “Items smaller than 2 inches in 2 dimensions render the package non-recyclable.” (Polypropylene and HDPE bottles) Local recycling centers use automated screeners to separate items suitable for recycling from items that go into landfill.

APR states “the industry standard screen size loses materials less than three inches to a non-plastics stream… or directly to [landfill] waste.” U.S. landfills are being filled with a sea of orange vials from prescription bottles, and if half of those prescriptions were dispensed in a blister package there would be a significant reduction of plastic making its way into landfills across the country. Blister packs offer drug manufacturers and retailers a more sustainable solution for dispensing prescription products.