Method of self-contained recycling of pharmaceutical containers
Disclosed herein is a system and method of recycling of a pharmaceutical container system, which can include the container and closure for the container. The disclosure teaches a self-contained recycling system wherein the pharmaceutical containers that are made for consumer use are returned for processing and remanufacturing as new unused pharmaceutical containers to facilitate the ease of recycling of the same and the future use as unused pharmaceutical containers and viable consumer products.
1. A method of recycling plastic storage containers comprising:
(a) providing a facility for the distribution of unused plastic storage containers that comply with Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for drug contact use in the storage and dispensing of drug products and the acceptance of used plastic storage containers that comply with FDA regulations for drug contact use, the unused plastic storage containers including unused recycled plastic storage containers made at least in part from the used plastic storage containers;
(b) delivering unused plastic storage containers from the facility to one of a plurality of dispensing locations using a first delivery system;
(c) providing a collection system for collecting only used plastic storage containers that comply with FDA regulations for drug contact use at the plurality of dispensing locations, the used plastic storage containers collected from the plurality of dispensing locations being isolated from other plastic recyclables in the collection system;
(d) delivering the used plastic storage containers collected from the plurality of dispensing locations to the facility using a second delivery system;
(e) converting at the facility the used plastic storage containers into unused recycled plastic storage containers; and
(f) repeating steps (b)-(f) to provide a closed-loop recycling program wherein the used plastic storage containers collected from the plurality of dispensing locations are isolated from other plastic recyclables such that the used plastic storage containers are directly recycled into unused recycled plastic storage containers that comply with FDA regulations for drug contact use in the storage and dispensing of drug products.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the used plastic storage containers and the unused plastic storage containers are composed of high density polyethylene.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the used plastic storage containers and the unused plastic storage containers are composed of polypropylene.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the used plastic storage and the unused plastic storage containers are composed of polyethylene terephthalate.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the used plastic storage containers and the unused plastic storage containers are composed of material selected from the group containing high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the facility includes a first location used for the delivery of unused plastic storage containers and a second location for the delivery of used plastic storage containers.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first location and the second location at the facility are the same building.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first delivery system and the second delivery system are the same delivery system.
9. A method of recycling plastic storage container systems including a container and a closure, the method comprising:
(a) collecting used plastic storage container systems that comply with Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for drug contact applications at a plurality of dispensing locations;
(b) delivering the used plastic storage container systems from the plurality of dispensing locations to a manufacturer;
(c) recycling the used plastic storage container systems into unused recycled plastic storage container systems; and
(d) repeating steps (a)-(c) to provide a closed-loop recycling program wherein the used plastic storage container systems collected from the plurality of dispensing locations are isolated from other plastic recyclables such that the used plastic storage container systems are directly recycled into unused recycled plastic storage container systems that comply with FDA regulations for drug contact applications.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the containers of the used plastic storage container systems and the unused plastic storage container systems are composed of high density polyethylene.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the containers of the used plastic storage container systems and the unused plastic storage container systems are composed of polypropylene.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the containers of the used plastic storage container systems and the unused plastic storage container systems are composed of polyethylene terephthalate.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the used plastic storage container systems and the unused plastic storage container systems are composed of material selected from the group containing high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate.