Why Traditional Blister Packs Are Difficult to Recycle

Introduction

Blister packs appear deceptively simple. At first glance, a pharmaceutical blister consists of a transparent plastic cavity that holds the tablet and a thin aluminium foil that seals the product inside. In reality, blister packaging is far more complex. This complexity is precisely what makes blister packs highly effective at protecting medicines — but also extremely difficult to recycle.

The Structure of Blister Packaging

Most pharmaceutical blister packs consist of a multi-layer composite structure. The forming film, which creates the cavities for tablets or capsules, is typically made from plastic materials such as:

• PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
• PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
• polypropylene.

In many cases, additional barrier coatings are added to improve protection against moisture and oxygen. The blister is then sealed with a thin aluminium foil, which acts as a second protective barrier. This combination of materials provides excellent protection for pharmaceutical products. However, it also creates a composite packaging structure that is difficult to separate into individual material streams.

Why Recycling Is Challenging

Recycling systems work most efficiently when materials are separated into relatively pure streams. Composite packaging, however, combines different materials in a way that makes separation difficult.

In blister packs, plastic and aluminium are tightly bonded together.

As a result, conventional recycling facilities often cannot process blister packaging efficiently. Many blister packs therefore end up in waste streams that are incinerated rather than recycled. Given the enormous global production of blister packaging, this represents a significant sustainability challenge for the pharmaceutical industry.

A Growing Sustainability Challenge

As sustainability and circular economy concepts gain importance, the recycling limitations of blister packaging are receiving increasing attention. Regulatory frameworks such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) are encouraging industries to develop packaging systems that are compatible with recycling infrastructures. For pharmaceutical blister packs, this means that traditional composite structures may increasingly come under pressure.

Transition

👉 In the next episode:
How mono-material blister concepts aim to improve recyclability.