Sam Rennick was a third year Business and Economics undergraduate in Trinity College when, during a case study analysis of the pharmaceutical industry, it was glaringly obvious to him that vast amounts of waste were being produced by a global healthcare industry with a huge dependency on single use plastics.
Rather than thinking he might provide a solution for the global healthcare system, he instead focussed on a product everyone is familiar with – blister packaging. Blister packaging is used in most prescription medications, vitamin packages, painkillers, supplements and everything in between. It is completely unrecyclable. Blister packs are also common contaminants within recycling as they are composed of non-separable materials (e.g. aluminium and plastic) causing many to incorrectly dispose of them through recycling channels. Until now, the industry has not taken its sustainability responsibilities very seriously and few alternatives to traditional blister packaging are available to manufacturers.
Sam’s idea is to combine biodegradable plastic solutions with paper cards to deliver a similar experience to the traditional blister pack. Many have developed solutions to this by focusing on biodegradable materials but failed to consider user experience and familiarity with the “pop” and, also the importance of anti-tampering, as many existing solutions are composed of two materials heat-sealed together or glued, which can be separated and re-sealed. Sam’s solution not only provides the familiar experience but is also tamper-proof and transparent. It is not only recyclable but biodegradable and can be composted at home without the need for any external equipment. He has called his solution ‘VitaGreen’.
Putting his Business Studies to good use, he has ambitions to partner with supplement and vitamin companies that are investing heavily in sustainable solutions. Recently one established business underwent a large rebrand to include compostable and recyclable packaging on protein powders. By advertising his USP as the only biodegradable packaging, VitaGreen can target environmentally conscious consumers, and harness the benefits of blister-packs by producing tailored supplement packs for diverse demographics like the elderly, the health conscious or sports people.
VitaGreen would then consider partnering with these companies to establish a capital base to manufacture and produce at scale, whilst selling to these companies at very low prices before beginning capital expansion. Once its production structures are in place, VitaGreen would sell directly to sellers in a B2B model, producing and delivering to directly to them. This approach would reduce production costs dramatically as it obviates need to deal with sterility during filling.
Sam’s solution positively impacts the environment by producing a biodegradable option for a product that is in everyone’s homes but about which most people discard without any consideration. He strongly believes that the social benefit of articulating how such products cannot be recycled or re-used may help to change consumer behaviour and potentially help further reduce enormous volumes of plastic waste generated by global healthcare producers.
Author: Breandán Goss, Trinity Innovation and Enterprise, Trinity College Dublin