Revolutionary new product will solve major issue for pharmacy customers: 'Word spread through social media channels'

A pharmaceutical packaging innovation is helping patients protect their health and the planet. The Prescription Paper Pill Bottle offers a fully compostable alternative to traditional plastic prescription containers, reported D&AD.

This 100% compostable and biodegradable bottle was created through a partnership with TOM, a global collective of makers and innovators. The paper bottle maintains all U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements for child protection, labeling, light, and water resistance while eliminating harmful waste. Its open-source design uses earth-friendly paper, coating, and glue that any pharmacy can download and implement.

This solution becomes even more meaningful when you consider that billions of small plastic pill bottles can't be recycled and end up in landfills yearly. By switching to paper bottles, patients reduce the plastic pollution that contaminates oceans and harms marine life.

Reduced plastic production also means fewer microplastics in our water and food, plus reduced pollution from petroleum-based manufacturing that contributes to more extreme weather patterns. The bottle can be composted after use, returning nutrients to our soil rather than adding to our mounting waste problem.

The paper bottle aims to make sustainability straightforward for everyday consumers. Patients receive their medication in packaging that works as effectively as plastic versions but can be composted at home when empty.

This approach to reducing waste has sparked interest across the pharmaceutical industry.

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"Now pharmacies can offer their patients compostable paper pill bottles to fill prescriptions. Once emptied, the paper bottle can be composted to enrich soil, giving back to the earth," states the project's promotional materials.

"After launching, word spread through social media channels, driving traffic to the TOM website. In just a short time, we not only started the conversation on sustainability within the pharmaceutical industry, we gave patients a new, unpretentious world," the creators explain in a video.

This bottle is exactly the kind of smart packaging update that benefits your medicine cabinet and the natural world outside your door.

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to buy a refillable product?

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