Pharmaceuticals are the medicinal drugs manufactured on a
large scale in Pharmaceutical companies. Thus, produced Drugs need a safe and
efficient delivery, as they affect the shelf-life of the drug. Poison
Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), enacted in 1970, was mainly based on Child
resistant Packaging. Whereas, in 2002, guidelines for using Pharmaceutical bags
in
pharma packaging contain specifications. These guidelines are helpful in
safe disposal of Pharmaceuticals, causing no harm to public health and environment.
- The Size of the package
- The Specification of the package
- The Thickness of the package material
-
The Quality of the package material
The choice of packaging material depends on the degree of
protection. The raw materials used in packaging may be Cardboard, Paper, Glass,
Plastic, Metal and Rubber. Among these, bio degradable Plastic bags are in
great demand made of
Low Density Polyethylene(LDPE). Such Pharmaceutical
Plastic packaging made of LDPE do not react with the product and do not impart
odour to the product.
Medical Grade Plastic Bags
In Packaging Medical grade products, much more attention is
needed as the medical products are temperature sensitive. Therefore,
Pharmaceutical products need special
Medical grade Plastic bags, to resist the
changes in temperature. Since, Pharmaceutical products are mainly drugs that
are chemically synthesized to cure the immunological diseases. These are very
expensive and need to be properly packaged to ensure the efficiency of the
drug. Therefore, special
Pharma bags are chemically designed in Industries,
which are made up of
Low Density Polyethylene(LDPE). It is an important first
grade Polyethylene, produced under high pressure through free radical
polymerisation.
As it is translucent, non-reactive and can withstand high
temperatures, it is most commonly used as plastic bags. It is also less
adhesive, therefore more often used in medical as well as in Pharmaceutical
field.
Medical Waste Bags
Disposal of Wastes generated in Medical facilities and
Clinics has become a day to day challenge. Collecting such disposals at regular
intervals requires bags, until they are transported to the disposal facility.
Medical waste need to be disposed to ensure the safe recovery of the patients,
as they cause contamination and sometimes being hazardous, need safe handling
until processing.
In turn, hazardous medical wastes contain Sharps such as
needles, heavy metals such as mercury in a thermometer when broken, Chemical
wastes such as left-over laboratory solvents, Anatomical wastes such as tissues
lead to Trauma and infection. Such wastes are enumerated as medical wastes and
are disposed in red color Medical waste Disposal bags. This medical waste
disposal bag is then sealed off to prevent the leakage of contaminents.
There are specific guidelines for handling the disposal of
Sharps as they need to be disposed in pun-cture proof medical disposal bags.
These guidelines provide advice where official assistance is not available for
the safe disposal of Medical waste and are as follows-
·
Needle attached syringes, neddles, Slides, saw
blades and any other sharps that which can pierce the skin easily should be
disposed in a puncture resistant container or bag.
·
Only close the container when it reaches maximum
full level as specified on the container, after which the container is placed
in receptacles lined with red bags with specifications.
·
These red bags are then disposed off through
incineration or land fill.
HOW TO CHOOSE MEDICAL WASTE BAGS FOR PHARMA DISPOSAL
Among the Medical wastes, some waste can undergo degradation
and are referred to as Biowaste or bio-medical waste. Such bio-waste
segregation requires bags or containers, depending on the category of
bio-waste. There are a wide range of bio-waste categories, such as Solid
wastes, Liquid wastes, contaminated and discarded medicines, wastes of cultures
and many more.
These are collected in Bio waste disposal bags, which are
available in different colours based on the category of the bio-waste. Bio
waste disposal bags are coded in colour and labelled such that the,
identification of the bio-waste and transportation or storage is made easy.
Also Read:
want to buy Triple laminated bags for food packaging? then check here
Choosing of Medical waste bags for Pharma disposal is based on the colour, in
which Red colour Bio waste disposable bag is opted for Chemical Treatment,
Yellow Colour Bio waste disposable bag is opted for Incineration, White
translucent and Blue colour Bio waste disposable bag is opted for shredding
after chemical treatment and Black colour Bio waste disposable bag is opted for
disposal in Land fill.
Don't Miss article: Best Guidelines for Pharma Packaging
Among these, the safe disposal of pharmaceuticals is achieved through incineration process but it
is cost-effective ( as it requires high temperatures at about 1,200 degrees C),
as it involves minimal risk to public health and environment. Being
cost-effective several other disposal methods are available which are less
expensive and less complicated such as Landfill, waste immobilization through
encapsulation or inertization, Medium temperature incineration, Novel high
temperature Incineration and Chemical decomposition.
At Medium temperature incineration and Novel
high temperature Incineration, pharma disposal containing Solids, Semi-solids,
Powders, Anti-neo plastics and controlled substances can be disposed
The bags are heat sealable and suitable for vacuum packaging. Bags are printed with ESD and moisture warning symbols and a lot of code for traceability. 
Polyester provides puncture resistance. Metal layers are intended to provide shielding of Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) and to help minimize the penetration of the electric field
Moisture Barrier bags are the most demanding laminated material used for the packaging products in the pharmaceutical industry. The delivery of the medicines and drugs to the customers is the challenging task for the healthcare products manufacturers.
