According to Cabinet Health, 194 billion orange plastic pill bottles are produced annually. Typically, these pill bottles are made of polypropylene (#5) plastic, which isn’t accepted in curbside recycling everywhere. Their small size and shape make them difficult for a Material Recovery Facility’s (MRF) trommel screen to sort. Moreover, these prescription pill bottles are considered medical waste, and many recycling programs won’t accept them to begin with.
Cabinet Health started addressing the plastic waste generated by medicine with a system of smartly reusable and refillable containers. This approach eliminates plenty of plastic for a product category essential for many of us and our well-being. Now, the healthcare brand has gone a step further, using its expertise in sustainable medical packaging and expanding into aluminum bottles.
Partnering with McKesson, a major pharmaceutical and medical supply company, is working with Cabinet to provide Over-The-Counter (OTC) medication in aluminum bottles, eliminating a significant amount of the plastic polymers used to package medication. According to Russell Gong, co-founder and president of Cabinet Health, the aluminum bottles use 70% less plastic than conventional pill bottles. For safety reasons, the caps on top of Cabinet bottles are still plastic, but the vessel itself is now made of the highly recyclable material. Gong says that aluminum caps and bottles made from other materials, like fiber, are currently being developed.
