New analysis by the circular economy innovation firm navigates complexities of healthcare packaging and identifies approaches to increase recovery of one of healthcare’s most visible plastic formats.

March 18, 2026, New York, NY -- Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy today released new findings to support increased recovery and recycling of prescription pill bottles. Leveraging the Closed Loop Center’s experience optimizing packaging systems for widely used products and generating value while reducing environmental impact, the report offers a data-driven analysis of circular opportunities for a ubiquitous form of plastic packaging: prescription pill bottles.

The report is released amidst growing plastic waste challenges in the healthcare sector. While healthcare packaging is often discussed as a single category, prescription pill bottles are a distinct case with a range of formats, including back-of-house bulk packer bottles and consumer-facing unit-of-use prescription bottles. Pill bottles are among the most widely handled healthcare packaging formats in the U.S. and are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP)––resins with established recycling markets and end-market demand––yet most pill bottles end up landfilled or combusted at end-of-life.

The Closed Loop Center estimates that up to 17,000 tons of bulk packer bottles and caps, and up to 61,000 tons of consumer-facing prescription pill bottles and caps are discarded each year in the U.S. Prescription pill bottles sit at the intersection of two systems that are often analyzed separately: healthcare plastics and consumer packaging. Like other healthcare plastics, pill bottles are subject to regulatory, safety, compliance and secure handling standards that do not apply to most consumer packaging. At the same time, pill bottles do not stay exclusively within clinical or healthcare facilities. Once dispensed to patients, pill bottles function like small-format consumer packaging, a category of packaging for common, everyday items like travel size tubes, packaging lids and more, that historically have low recycling rates in the U.S. due to their size. As a result of this dual nature, pill bottles face distinct recovery challenges.

“Advancing pill bottle recovery represents a significant opportunity for circularity within a much larger plastic waste challenge, if we take into account the nuances of this packaging type and its real-world constraints,” said Kate Daly, CEO of the Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy. “Recovering more of these valuable materials will require alignment across collection systems, regulatory safeguards and end market demand, and coordinated action by retail pharmacies, manufacturers and recyclers.”

The report identifies near-term and longer-term opportunities to improve circularity for bulk packer bottles and consumer-facing prescription pill bottles, building on the Closed Loop Center’s recent findings on recovery pathways for small-format packaging in the U.S. The report also navigates the landscape and complexities of the pill bottle recovery value chain, breaking down several considerations for advancing recovery:

• Collection, aggregation, recycling and disposal pathways for bulk packer pottles and consumer-facing pill bottles

• Opportunities and constraints to collect bulk packer bottles within pharmacies and healthcare settings

• Consumer behavior & participation in prescription bottle take-back programs

• Considerations for consumer-facing pill bottles within broader small-format packaging recovery

• Health, safety and privacy considerations for prescription pill bottles

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These insights aim to help stakeholders navigate the structural, regulatory and operational realities that shape pill bottle recovery today, serving as a practical guide for:

• Retail pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies evaluating their product portfolio and end-of-life management pathways

• Pharmacies and distributors seeking near-term waste reduction

• Brands, retailers and healthcare systems aligning sustainability goals with operational feasibility and regulatory requirements

• Technology and infrastructure partners innovating in sortation, aggregation, data capture and end markets

• Stewardship organizations and recyclers evaluating pilot models for consumer-facing unit-of-use pill bottle recovery and broader small-format packaging recovery

“No single lever will unlock pill bottle recovery,” Kate Daly added. “It’s through both short- and long-term innovation, paired with cross-industry partnerships, that we can meaningfully reduce the volume of prescription pill containers sent to landfill or incineration, and then adapt what we learn to address waste challenges for other healthcare plastics.”

The Closed Loop Center invites stakeholders across the pharmaceutical value chain and recycling ecosystem to use this report to understand the landscape of pill bottle recovery and explore opportunities to increase the recovery of prescription pill bottles, while safeguarding patient privacy, meeting regulatory requirements and strengthening end markets. Together, these actions can unlock value, reduce environmental impact and help accelerate the shift to a world without waste.

About Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy

The Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy is an innovation firm that helps businesses solve their most pressing material challenges. Based in New York City and working with cities across the country, the Closed Loop Center partners with the world’s most influential brands and retailers to research commercial opportunities, design circular solutions, and build cutting-edge initiatives in market. The Closed Loop Center is part of Closed Loop Partners, which also includes one of the largest privately held recycling companies in the U.S. and a leading global circular economy capital management group. Learn more about the Closed Loop Center at closedloopcenter.com

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