Eco-Rx: Eco-Friendly Packaging for Pharmacy Home Delivery

Froedtert Pharmacy recently made a positive environmental change to its home delivery and specialty pharmacy shipments: All shipping materials are now 100% curbside recyclable. 

“Many specialty pharmacy medicines must be refrigerated and were previously shipped to patients in a bulky cooler made of foam packaging that could not be recycled,” said Ben Glennon, PharmD, outpatient pharmacy manager for home delivery and specialty pharmacy. “Patients often asked for better alternatives.” 

Glennon and a colleague began researching sustainable options. 

“We wanted something easy for patients to recycle,” Glennon said. “We didn’t want them to have to go to a specific recycling center to dispose of the packaging.” 

Froedtert Pharmacy Eco-Innovation Program

People can dispose of these new shipping materials in the same bin they use at home to recycle cardboard, cans and plastic bottles. Nonrefrigerated medicines are shipped in a recyclable paper mailer, while medicines that must stay cold are boxed with a frozen gel pack that the patient can cut open, thaw and pour down a household drain. The gel pack wrapper can be recycled with other plastics. 

Before switching to the new materials, Glennon conducted shipping tests to ensure the packaging was effective and that medicines would arrive at the patient’s door at the right temperature throughout the year. These tests continue to take place quarterly, which is a requirement of specialty pharmacy accreditation bodies. 

Glennon said this innovative program will eliminate roughly 50,000 pounds of waste each year and will help the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network meet internal goals to minimize waste and reduce carbon emissions. The sustainable shipping efforts come at no cost to patients. 

“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from patients,” Glennon said. “They are happy about being able to recycle all the materials."