Sonoco Joins Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council
Sonoco Joins Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council
March 22, 2021 /3BL Media/ - The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) is pleased to welcome Sonoco, a producer of high-quality healthcare packaging for clinical and consumer needs, as its newest member. Sonoco’s Healthcare Packaging business is part of Sonoco, a $5.2 billion global provider of diversified consumer packaging, protective packaging and packaging supply chain services.
“Sonoco Healthcare Packaging is a leader in sustainable packaging solutions,” says Peylina Chu, Executive Direct of HPRC. “Their subsidiary, TEQ, was one of the first packaging companies to adopt HPRC’s Design for Recycling Guidelines into their medical packaging. As a member of HPRC, Sonoco will help drive our vision toward an economy where all healthcare plastics are safely and effectively recycled and widely accepted as a valuable resource. Additionally, their insights and first-hand knowledge developing recyclable sterile barrier systems for the healthcare industry will directly contribute to our ongoing project work.”
Sonoco’s medical packaging solutions offer multiple plastic and environmentally friendly sterile barrier packaging systems including: TEQethyleneTM, TEQpropyleneTM and TEQconnexTM. These sterile barrier systems provide the industry a recyclable medical packaging solution that use a proprietary blend of materials unique to each system.
“Our commitment to sustainability has been the primary driver in developing many of our products,” says Todd McDonald, Global Director of Sales and Marketing at TEQ. “In healthcare applications, we understand that for patient safety, plastic is usually the best solution. We also understand that recyclability is a critical design feature that cannot be overlooked. Being sustainable and saving lives are not mutually exclusive. I look forward to working collaboratively with HPRC to improve the recyclability of plastic products and packaging within healthcare.”
In the United States, HPRC is currently engaged in multiple initiatives aimed at enabling recycling of healthcare plastics, including research into advanced recycling technologies to recycle mixed stream healthcare plastics, a study of reverse logistics processes for collecting, segregating, and preparing healthcare plastic waste for transport, and focused outreach and engagement with recyclers.
About HPRC
HPRC is a private technical coalition of industry peers across healthcare, recycling and waste management industries seeking to improve recyclability of plastic products within healthcare. HPRC is made up of brand leading and globally recognized members including Amcor, Baxter, BD, Boston Scientific, DuPont, Eastman Chemical Company, Gore Medical, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Nelipak Healthcare Packaging, ThermoFisher Scientific, Ravago Recycling Group, Remington Medical, Sartorius, Sonoco Healthcare and Sterimed. The council convenes biannually at meetings hosted by an HPRC member that regularly include stakeholder engagement events and facility tours to further learning and knowledge sharing opportunities through first-hand demonstration of best practices in sustainable product and packaging design and recycling processes. For more information, visit www.hprc.org and follow HPRC on LinkedIn.
About Sonoco Healthcare
Where the Science of Packaging Empowers the Science of Medicine. Sonoco offers a variety of packaging, shipping and display solutions designed to meet the unique needs and exacting standards of the medical, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. From sterile, non-sterile or temperature assured packaging to the fabrication of diverse medical device components, Sonoco has a solution for your business.
About Sonoco
Founded in 1899, Sonoco (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $5,2 billion, the Company has 20,000 employees working in more than 320 operations in 34 countries, serving some of the world’s best known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is committed to Better Packaging. Better Life. and ranked first in the Packaging sector on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies 2018-2019-2020 lists. For more information visit www.sonoco.com.
