Reducing waste
Innovations to products & packaging
As part of our ongoing global efforts to improve material efficiency and reduce waste at Roche Diabetes Care, our new generation of blood glucose monitoring strips, meters and packaging have been redesigned. A new innovative strip architecture resulted in a strip size that is 60% smaller than the prior version and has fewer components overall. The new design has also reduced polyester usage by approximately 1,000 tonnes per year1.
Moreover, new packaging bundles and kit configurations have improved the pack density by 35–45%, allowing more products to be shipped on skids and in tertiary containers. This reduces the distribution cost and environmental impact. Other optimisations were achieved by reducing the thickness and weight of the cardboard and paper for product information, increasing the use of recycled corrugated distribution components to 100% and utilising packaging materials that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council1.
We continue to engage in active dialogue with our suppliers to further develop sustainability strategies, with the goal to establish reduction, substitution and recycling strategies for the different types of plastics used in our processes and products.
Tyvek takeback scheme
Tyvek® material requires specialist recycling in the UK. In 2021 we launched a scheme to enable patients in the UK to recycle the Tyvek® components of our pump infusion sets and consumables packaging, reducing the parts that go to landfill.
The scheme enables patients in the UK to request a recyclable, postage-paid envelope, which they can then fill with their pump consumable materials. Once the envelope is full, they return it by post to a Tyvek® certified recycler.
With this scheme, all parts of the Accu-Chek pump consumable packaging are now recyclable in the UK.
How to recycle our product packaging
As part of our commitment towards sustainable development, we are continuously seeking to employ new, more sustainable technologies and processes to minimise our impact on the environment.
This includes making relevant information available on packaging materials so that people can make informed decisions for recycling and reducing landfill of our product packaging where possible.
1. Roche Holdings Ltd - Business Report. Available at https://sec.report/otc/financial-report/239237. Last accessed October 2022.