The statutory coding of pharmaceutical products requires that manufacturers mark the product at every stage of the supply chain and comply with Good Manufacturing Practice and the appropriate regulatory documents. Factors to consider include the inks used for labels and the use of new technologies such as laser coding and RFID for marking systems.

WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Programme, offers advice to businesses that wish to conduct a responsible and environmentally sustainable packaging approach, and gain an advantage by helping to develop strategies that reduce waste, energy consumption, logistics costs and materials use.

A temperature sensor material that complies with European Union directives, helps meet stipulations that drugs dispensed directly to patients are from unit-dose packs.

The EU Packaging Directive, The Producer Responsibility Obligation (Packaging Waste) Regulations in 1997 launched a ‘tax' on the packaging supply chain based on weight, as an incentive to recycle and use less packaging.

As chemists move away from traditional containers to plastic packaging in order to meet the rapid turnover of products, manufacturers of glass pharmaceutical containers now need to offer a customers a total packaging solution. The glass packaging industry looks ahead to challenges faced.