Unwrapping sustainable packaging:
How small changes can create a big impactTaking a closer look at sustainable packaging, exploring its various forms and the small changes that veterinary practices can adopt to reduce their overall environmental footprint.
In the realm of veterinary practices, packaging plays a pivotal role in preserving the integrity of medications, vaccines, and essential consumables such as sterile dressings. Beyond its functional necessity, outer packaging such as that received with wholesale deliveries, also plays a vital role in ensuring safe and secure shipping and storage. However, the environmental toll of traditional packaging cannot be ignored. In this article, we will take a closer look at sustainable packaging, exploring its various forms and the small changes that veterinary practices can adopt to reduce their overall environmental footprint.
As we all know, traditional packaging, often designed with convenience and cost in mind, has a significant negative impact on the environment. The production of packaging materials, such as plastic, requires the extraction of finite resources and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the disposal of single-use packaging leads to overflowing landfills and the pollution of natural ecosystems.
The impact of this can be best understood through statistics that highlight the scale of the problem and the potential for change.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the equivalent of one rubbish lorry of plastic waste enters the ocean every minute, which amounts to 8 million metric tons of plastic every year. Without action, a report by Pew, suggests this could nearly triple by 2040.
And of course, it’s not just a matter of pollution and overflowing landfills, it’s also the huge amount of carbon emissions that are generated in the production and disposal of plastic. Experts from The Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL) have estimated that…
“By 2050, the production and disposal of plastic could generate 56 gigatons of emissions, as much as 14% of the earth’s entire remaining carbon budget”
Sustainable packaging aims to lessen its environmental impact while still fulfilling its necessary function. It goes beyond just being eco-friendly; it encompasses a range of practices that prioritise the use of renewable resources, minimise energy consumption, and generally reduce the carbon footprint.
For most of us, the commonly recognised form of sustainability in packaging is that it uses recycled, recyclable or reusable materials. Each of these offers different solutions to achieve sustainability goals but combined, they contribute to the circular economy, the reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfills and the need for virgin materials.
A great example of this is post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics. PCR plastics are made from recyclable plastic waste that has been used and discarded by consumers. This waste is collected, sorted, and then processed to remove any impurities. The resulting plastic is then melted down and moulded to create new packaging products, which can then, in turn, be recycled once it’s served its purpose, keeping that original material in the economy for much longer.
The two most common types of PCR plastic that you would come across as a general consumer and as part of your work in practice:
RPET, Recycled PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) – transparent, durable and lightweight, this is generally used in food and drink packaging.
RHDPE, Recycled HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) – durable and lightweight, this is generally used in the packaging for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, chemical and cleaning products.
Plant-based packaging materials or bioplastics, are derived from renewable resources, such as plants or agricultural waste. These materials, a common type of which is PLA (polylactic acid) are made from biomass such as corn or sugarcane. They offer a more sustainable alternative to conventional plastics derived from fossil fuels and are biodegradable.
Biodegradable and compostable materials have become a popular choice for packaging, however, it's crucial to acknowledge the complexities surrounding biodegradability in the healthcare/veterinary sector. With contamination a concern, products labelled as biodegradable (or compostable) may end up having to be incinerated. Moreover, specific conditions are often required for optimal and timely biodegradation and some products may necessitate additives that aren't environmentally sound. Having said that, compostable packaging can be a good option in more general use, such as for single-use, food-based packaging, a great example of which is tea bags or coffee pods. The complexity of biodegradable packaging in this context, highlights the importance of considering a holistic approach to sustainability, focusing on multiple attributes beyond biodegradability to ensure a genuinely eco-friendly impact.
Unlike traditional single-use packaging, reusable packaging is designed to be used multiple times before being recycled or disposed of. This approach encourages the return and reuse of the packaging and can take various forms; think of traditional glass milk bottles or the tote delivery boxes that your wholesale delivery arrives in. They’re typically made from more durable materials so that they can withstand multiple cycles of use.
In addition to using sustainable materials, a multifaceted approach to packaging involves exploring various other options that can contribute to a more sustainable approach:
Concentrated products are designed to be highly efficient and require less packaging material compared to traditional products. By reducing the volume of the product, less packaging is needed, resulting in less waste and a smaller carbon footprint from transportation and shipping. These products seamlessly integrate with refillable containers, such as trigger spray bottles. Refillable products reduce the need for single-use items and reduce packaging waste, while also saving resources that would otherwise be used in manufacturing new containers. Where would you use concentrated and refillable products in veterinary practice? Generally, you would be looking at consumable products such as chemicals and those for cleaning/disinfection, maximising sustainability while maintaining efficacy.
Product Hero:Select from NVS Ready to Use Disinfectant Cleaner Trigger Sprays that can be refilled from the 5L concentrate.
Reducing excess packaging is another crucial aspect of sustainable packaging. Many products are often over-packaged, with excessive layers of plastic or unnecessary materials. Re-designing packaging can help to minimise these excess materials and optimising packaging dimensions and weight can also help to reduce the carbon emissions created during transportation.
Product Hero:Select from NVS Comfort Snap Collars - we've removed the unnecessary outer cardboard packaging.
Product Hero:Select from NVS Small Animal Procedure Pack - using a procedural pack reduces the overall amount of packaging compared to single packaged items.
The pack contains: 1 x gown XL, 1 x hand towel, 1 x syringe (20ml luer slip), 1 x kidney dish, 1 x bundle of 5 x-ray gauze swabs 12 play, 4 x drape bi-laminate, adhesive edge, 1 x drape extremity, 1 x wrap crepe, 1 x supawrap, 1 x breather bag and 1 x trolley cover.
Traditional printing inks often contain chemicals and solvents that can be harmful to the environment during production and disposal. Water-based inks, on the other hand, are made from water as the main solvent, reducing the use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other harmful substances. Water-based inks are also easier to recycle and can be more easily removed during the recycling process, making them a more environmentally friendly choice.
Product Hero:Select from NVS Sterilisation Pouches - printed using water-based inks.
As a veterinary wholesaler, NVS is dedicated to sustainability. We prioritise finding products that use minimal packaging or that which is made from sustainable materials. To help you easily spot which products these are, we’ve added our greener pawprint logo to the sustainable products on our website, NVS Online ordering portal and in our brochures. NVS Online now includes enhanced sustainability information provided for each product. The ‘More Information’ product tile includes information about the packaging ie recyclable. What’s more, you can also now search by sustainable keywords within the products search function.
Select from NVS - to make it easier for you to identify the sustainable attributes of our range, we have introduced new sustainable symbols on our packaging.
Product Hero:NEW Select from NVS Premium Iodine Solution - uses a min. of 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic bottles, which are also recyclable.
Code: 385670, 500ml solutionCode: 385669, 500ml spray solution
All of our Select from NVS 500ml chemicals now use a min. of 30% PCR plastic bottles - click here to view.
One small change that you can make is to swap your cleaning and disinfection products for concentrated options. You can also refill trigger spray bottles and other dispensers from these concentrated products, allowing for multiple reuses and significantly reducing single-use plastic packaging.
This also gives you the flexibility to change the concentration of the disinfectant in your trigger sprays depending on the requirement. For example, our Select from NVS disinfectants are recommended for use at two working dilutions: 1:50 for use in soiled environments and for virucidal use. 1:100 for general cleaning. As our high-level disinfectant concentrate is DEFRA-approved, it can also be used at 1:10 in cases of Avian Influenza (AI).
Click here to view or download the disinfectant applications guide.
Select from NVS Everyday High-Level DEFRA-approved Disinfectants. Effective against viruses, bacteria, MRSA, mycobacteria, yeasts and fungi. Available as a concentrated formula, the product doesn't have to be rinsed and can be used at different concentrations to offer a single solution for all of a practice’s needs.Active ingredients: Benzyl Alkyldimethyl chloride <8% Polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride <1%.
Is there a product that you use frequently in your practice that you feel is over-packaged? Maybe it has lots of unnecessary additional packaging materials added for delivery? If so, try getting in touch with the supplier or manufacturer to talk about your concerns and see if there are any changes they can make.
In the last issue of this magazine, we spoke to Paula Hunt, Head of Synergy Farm Health’s Green Group. By getting in touch with a well-known brand of TB needles Paula discovered that they could get the needle packs without the unnecessary individual oblong hard-plastic flip-top boxes that they were packaged in. With the number of needles that the practice used, it would save around 800g of hard plastic per year, which would add up to a big saving of 8kg over a 10-year period!Read more about Synergy Farm Health’s sustainability journey
Household recycling has become second nature for many of us, but what about the more complicated items that you use in practice? It’s often not as simple as it might appear, especially with not all packaging clearly labelled with instructions. So, how do you know/check what can be recycled? We’ve looked to Vet Sustain for some guidance on this and they suggest first checking with your local council, if you’re still unsure, the following resources are really useful:
Any soft plastic or cardboard packaging that we delivered with your order can be handed back to your NVS delivery driver who will ensure it is returned to our main warehouse for recycling.Did you know? We recycle over 320 tonnes of packaging each year: 300 tonnes of cardboard & 28 tonnes of plastic.
Read more about NVS's Recycling Collection Service
NVS Tote Boxes are a reusable and sustainable distribution solution that reduces the amount of cardboard and plastic packaging required to safely and securely deliver essential products to your practice. By returning your tote boxes, you are helping to further reduce the use of cardboard and plastic packaging.
Click on the image below to discover more about how we can work together to deliver a greener pawprint.
