OptumRx announced it is becoming the first major pharmacy care services company to introduce fully sustainable medication packaging that replaces polystyrene, or foam. The new packaging delivers temperature-sensitive specialty and maintenance prescriptions to consumers’ homes while ensuring the safety and quality of the medication remains intact. 

Eliminating foam commonly used in medication home delivery is part of the company’s effort to ensure all packaging used in OptumRx home delivery facilities is recyclable. The new packaging is made from 100 percent renewable cotton and is biodegradable, compostable, reusable and recyclable. By using the new packaging to deliver approximately 4 million prescriptions each year, OptumRx projects annual savings of:

“At OptumRx, our priority is ensuring people get the high-quality medications they need, when they need them,” said Jon Mahrt, chief of operations at OptumRx, in a statement. “Our new packaging ensures each shipment maintains the highest standard of quality and effectiveness, while reducing the environmental footprint of our medication home delivery services.”

OptumRx provides medication home delivery, in addition to specialty pharmacy and infusion services through BriovaRx, to consumers and clients in 53 facilities across the United States.