At Johnson & Johnson, we are committed to delivering the highest quality products for patients, doctors and customers, while also working to improve the environmental performance of our product portfolio.
We focus our efforts where we can have a positive impact, including improving packaging sustainability and delivering product recycling and circular solutions. Examples include:
Improving packaging sustainability
We replaced the plastic trays in the secondary packaging used in many of our immunology self-injectable device lines with a tray made of a fiber-based material. These trays were a significant breakthrough in pharmaceutical packaging, as they can be disposed of through regular cardboard recycling waste streams, available in most countries. First introduced in our TREMFYA One Press line, we have expanded the use of these trays to additional self-injectable product lines.
Product recycling and circular solutions
Closing the loop on medical devices
It’s been estimated that about 30% of a hospital’s waste comes from their operating rooms, providing an important opportunity to advance more recycling and closed loop processes.
To help reduce medical waste, we are working with hundreds of hospitals in Europe and New Zealand to recycle components from medical instruments designed for single use. Through the program, certain J&J MedTech devices are collected after use and then select metal and plastic components are recycled. We’ve expanded the scope of the program to include recycling of suture aluminum foil packaging in some countries.
Taking back pharmaceutical devices
Our Safe Returns program for home-administered Innovative Medicine products allows patients to return their used devices in a convenient paper envelope. The program is available in the U.S. and multiple countries in Europe. We’ve built and operationalized a machine in Switzerland to disassemble devices collected through Safe Returns in Europe, as part of our efforts to support recycling of some device components.
See the many ways we are partnering with others to advance more sustainable healthcare.