LyondellBasell CirculenRenew polymers used in Röchling pharmaceutical packaging

LyondellBasell, in partnership with Röchling Medical, has boosted its ambition of advancing the circular economy by creating eye drop containers using CirculenRenew polymers.

These polymers offer a variety of PP, HDPE and LDPE grades that are equivalent to virgin resin quality. LyondellBasell CirculenRenew grades support the use of renewable feedstocks from bio-based sources that are not in competition with food sources.

Mathieu Lecomte, Marketing Manager at LyondellBasell, said: “We are very proud to work with Röchling Medical on this project. It’s the first time we are supplying CirculenRenew grades for a primary pharmaceutical packaging application. This is an important milestone for us which also supports our ambitious goal of producing and marketing two million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers by 2030.”

After several trials, the project team chose an LDPE due to its high purity suitability for use in blow moulding manufacturing processes.

Grit Pasche, Röchling Group’s Global Director Quality and Regulatory Affairs, added: “In such a highly regulated environment as the pharmaceutical industry, driving change towards more sustainable solutions for primary packaging is a challenge. Therefore, CirculenRenew was the right choice for us. These renewable-based polymers offer the same properties as fossil-based alternatives in terms of product performance.”

This progress was made possible via the principle of mass balancing. The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certification provides traceability of the renewable content along the supply chain and verifies that the mass balance accounting follows predefined and transparent rules. Customers can use these certificates to verify compliance with sustainability and traceability requirements. As part of an ISCC Plus certified supply chain, pharma customers are able to actively contribute to promoting sustainability and conserving resources, ultimately reducing the CO2 footprint of their products.