How Using 100% Recycled Bottles Can Improve Your Business
Many businesses are looking to find ways to use 100% recycled bottles for their products in a quickly growing eco-friendly climate.
In 2008, the U.S. buried or burned over 166 million tons of materials. These consisted of plastic, paper, metals, glass, and organic substances. Only a minimal amount — one-third — of materials were actually recycled and composted. Likewise, there was 7.5 million tons of PET plastic that was collected worldwide in 2011. In 2009, 3.4 million tons was used to produce fiber and 500,000 tons to produce bottles. On the other hand, glass bottles fared very well when recycled.
Glass is widely used as a green packaging material in the pharmaceutical industry due to its exceptional recyclable nature. It is the first choice when it comes to bottles for drugs and vitamins as well as for local administrations of medications. Your business can use this medium indefinitely as it is a powerful way to reduce greenhouse emissions and our carbon footprint.
Early Beginnings
The beginnings of recycling had its start with Max Jacob, the founder of MJS Packaging. In 1885, he started the company by collecting bottles and developing relationships with Detroit-area breweries. He would gather the empty bottles and return them to the breweries for reuse. This resulted in him being known as the first recycler in the region.
Glass Bottles: The Benefits of 100% Recycled Bottles
For businesses, every 10 percent of recycled glass used in the manufacturing process reduces energy costs by 2-3 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions see reductions of 4-10 percent. Another thought to consider is that one of your glass containers can be made of 70 percent recycled glass. With that in mind, 80 percent of all recycled glass ends up as new containers.
For pharmaceutical companies, glass bottles are one of the most preferred materials for packaging next to plastic. Glass is desirable as it does not react with your bottle’s contents. Glass provides you with sustainable, raw materials and is also chemically pure and inert and is safe to be used for a variety of pharmaceutical and life-saving drugs. Another benefit to using glass is that it is 100 percent recyclable so it can be used over and over again.
In recycling glass, many manufacturing facilities use natural gas as their processing fuel and are therefore non-polluting. Glass is actually known as the only packaging material that is rated at “GRAS” (Generally Regarded As Safe) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Glass bottles in pharmaceutical uses provide you with a number of other benefits. These include:
- Glass can handle high pressure or vacuum sealing. This guards against moisture and oxygen entering your products. It also protects against bacterial formation and spoilage.
- It can be made to protect against ultraviolet light so product taste and quality is unaffected.
- It has a longer shelf life than other packaging materials.
- It is biodegradable.
- It is the best product for sterilized materials.
- Glass is inert, that is, it does not react with your packaged materials and is a 100 percent neutral packaging medium. For the pharmaceutical industry, this is critical.
- Your glass bottles can be recycled and returned to be reused for your products or for use in your community. This cradle-to-cradle packaging means that your glass products like bottles, droppers, vials, ampules, and other items, can be transformed into new bottles continuously.
All in all, your products are safer for your customers, and you’re contributing to the environment.
Plastic Bottles: The Benefits of 100% Recycled Bottles
Recycling is the best way to help cut down on the increasingly growing landfill issue. In many areas, recycling plastic is simple. In Canada, for example, seven out of every 10 single-use plastic bottles are now recycled. America’s recycling rate for the plastic PET was about 12 percent in 2012.
You can look to various ways to use 100% recycled bottles through the use of various types of plastics like PET for your drugs and vitamins.
With the call for 100% recycled bottles stronger and louder than ever, your business should try not to use any more new plastic but should attempt to reuse what has already been created.
Here are a few interesting statistics for you to consider:
- One pound of recycled PET saves 12,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs).
- 4,800 recycled 16 oz bottles saves a cubic yard of landfill space.
PET bottles are most often used in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry around the world. It is strong and lightweight, shatterproof, and does not react with its contents.
100% recycled bottles present with a number of benefits for your company. These include:
- They are hygienic and resistant to micro-organisms.
- They are strong.
- They do not biologically or chemically degrade.
- They are lightweight, easy to transport, and do not break.
- They are stable and inert.
- They do not contain any known endocrine disruptors.
Packaging ensures the quality of your drugs and vitamins and enables you to deliver them safely to your customers. The packaging goal is to set the standard in low-carbon, sustainable packaging. To reduce this carbon footprint, you need to assess your packaging from design to disposal, work to use renewable and reusable materials, and ensure your packaging is recyclable.
Launching Your Own Program for 100% Recycled Bottles
In addition to the products you use for your customers, you can launch an internal program for your company’s use of 100% recycled bottles.
- Select a program coordinator for implementing and overseeing the recycling program along with a team to assist.
- Conduct a PET plastic bottles assessment. How many PET or glass bottles are used or sold on your premises? Where are the majority of the PET bottles consumed and thrown away?
- Learn how to identify the recyclable materials you discard. Teach everyone in your organization about how to locate recycling codes.
- Establish access to a recycling bin and coordinate with your waste service provider to recycle as much as possible.
- Monitor and evaluate the program. Stay in close contact with all your participants.
By 2020, many businesses aim to recycle more packaging than they use as they realize how easily bottles and plastics can be made from recyclable items. Make one of those companies yours with MJS Packaging’s guidance and expertise.
Learn More About 100% Recycled Bottles
If you are dedicated to being eco-friendly, choosing your packaging can be difficult and vital to your branding. MJS Packaging offers the best customer service and lowest prices for your pharmaceutical product packaging. We have exclusive access to manufacturers all around the world. We can advise you on the best bottles, closures, and caps and on any other packaging needs you have.
