Extrusion International 3-2022

34 Extrusion International 3/2022 Plastics Packaging T his game changing innovation will help deliver sustainable packaging solutions for the growing global healthcare industry, whilst importantly maintaining functional- ity and effciency, as Push Tab ® blis- ter lid runs on existing blister pack- aging lines without compromising on speed. The Huhtamaki Push Tab ® blister lid is made of mono-material PET (polyethylene terephthalate) which signifcantly improves recyclability of the packaging, whilst remaining compatible with existing high per- formance blister packaging lines, without needing modifcations or extra investment. Huhtamaki and its partner – Klöckner Pentaplast – bring this frst-to-market innovation to help the global healthcare and pharmaceutical sector meet their sustainability targets and achieve market growth at the same time. In 2021, European packaging sales in the healthcare category had an es- timated value of EUR 1.4 billion, of which approximately 50% were in blister packaging. “We are proud to partner with Klöckner Pentaplast to bring Push Tab ® blister lid to market and con- tinue to shape the sustainable fu- ture of pharmaceutical and flex - ible packaging. This innovation is designed as part of our blueloop platform, enabling us to speed up innovation and improve circular- ity in high-performance flexible packaging solutions. We are work- ing hard to turn all our products into mono-material fully recyclable structures. In addition, we are col- laborating with partners across the value chain to deliver innova- tion that helps ensure that ambi- tious sustainability targets around the globe can be met,” says Marco Hilty, President, Flexible Packaging at Huhtamaki. “The pharmaceutical industry is proactively searching for sus- tainable packaging solutions that enable recyclability. Since blister packaging traditionally contains multiple materials, it is diffcult to recycle them in a single recycling stream. Push Tab ® blister lid solves this problem because it is made of mono PET. Push Tab ® runs on ex- isting blister packaging lines and is a plug-and-play solution, which means no additional investment is needed for our customers. This newly developed unique technol- ogy makes PET based lid flm push - able and secures easy access to the tablet for the consumer,” says To- bias Fackler, Senior Manager of the Healthcare Business Unit at Huhta- maki Flexible Packaging. Huhtamaki www.huhtamaki.com www.huhtamaki.com/en/pushtab www.huhtamaki.com/en/blueloop/ Klöckner Pentaplast www.kpfilms.com/en/ Push Tab ® blister Lid Launched Huhtamaki, a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, announced a first-to-market sustainable innovation for the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. Huhtamaki's Push Tab ® blister lid is mono- material PET and free from aluminum. It is designed to meet the stringent safety requirements of highly regulated pharmaceutical and healthcare packaging and provides the industry with a more sustainable alternative to traditional push-through blister packaging. MarcoHilty, Huhtamaki Tobias Fackler, Huhtamaki