Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech company, has entered into an agreement with Eastman to use the company’s medical-grade Eastar Renew 6763 copolyester for its medical device sterile barrier packaging. By employing Eastar Renew, Ethicon will be able certify plastic waste is being diverted from landfills to produce new packaging.
Ethicon’s goal is to divert waste volume equal to 25% of the weight of total packaging produced. Its commitment is backed by Ethicon’s ISCC PLUS certification, awarded by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC), which traces sustainable sourcing of feedstock.
Typically, mechanically recycled materials cannot be used in healthcare applications due to purity and transparency requirements. Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies reduce plastic waste, helping healthcare companies increase their sustainability profiles. By breaking down waste to its molecular building blocks, which are indistinguishable from virgin materials, the technologies can be used to create high-performance polymers suitable for the medical industry. And since the technologies source plastic waste as feedstock, they leave fossil resources in the ground, lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
“The companies worked closely to chart a path toward creating a more circular future for packaging of medical devices, driving landfill diversion and reducing carbon emissions,” says Scott Ballard, Eastman plastics division president. “With our molecular recycling technologies, we can improve the sustainability of products that have been the hallmark of safety and performance in healthcare for decades.”
Strategic collaborations, such as this one between Ethicon and Eastman, will help drive change in the industry, leveraging molecular recycling to increase recycling rates and catalyze a circular economy for healthcare.
