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EPS containers deliver for sanofi pasteur's vaccine shipments

Environmental advantages persuade sanofi pasteur to select expanded polystyrene containers to ship its vaccines; healthcare provider customers also benefit.

Recycled expanded polystyrene containers make for a sustainable packaging solution for shipments of sanofi pasteur’s liquid and freeze-dried vaccines.

EPS, which is often criticized for its environmental impact, is proving to be a sound material choice, according to Bill Tarabek, director, U.S. distribution for sanofi pasteur, the Lyon, France-based vaccines division of the Sanofi-Aventis Group. “EPS is not environmentally unfriendly—it’s just the opposite,” Tarabek contends.

“Unlike other material such as paper, EPS does not degrade and will not leach any substances into groundwater, nor will it form harmful gases,” he adds. “So although EPS can be safely disposed in today’s landfills, sanofi pasteur developed a Return and Recycle Program for our customers who prefer to recycle. Expanded polystyrene is 100-percent recyclable. To be clear, we are not talking about everyday packing peanuts, these are white shipping containers.”

Since January 2008, sanofi pasteur has offered its U.S. customers a prepaid mail-back recycling program that works through a partnership with the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers. AFPR was founded in 1991 to develop an industry-based collection infrastructure.

Sanofi Pasteur’s customers—physician’s offices, hospitals, and healthcare providers—open the EPS shipper, which contains refrigerated and/or frozen gel packs to maintain the products within the necessary temperature range. The packaged vials are removed from a polyethylene bag. Sanofi Pasteur supplies tape strips and a recyclable shipping label to customers who then apply the label to the box, tape the lid to the box, and give it to their courier for shipment to a recycler.

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