For decades, the pills you pick up at the pharmacy have arrived in hard plastic containers. Those containers can technically be recycled, but far fewer recycling programs accept them than accept aluminum, which is handled much more widely. That gap is exactly what is about to change on some CVS shelves.
What Is Changing
The retail pharmacy chain will soon begin selling generic, CVS-brand versions of certain allergy and pain-relief medications packaged in aluminum. The rollout starts with the value-size versions of allergy medicines and general pain-relief products. These are the larger store-brand containers holding the same active ingredients found in Allegra, Benadryl, Claritin, Zyrtec, Tylenol, and Advil.
Mike Wier, vice president of store brands at CVS, laid out the reasoning in an email to TrendKia. “For OTC medications, aluminum packaging offers several practical and sustainability benefits,” he wrote. “Like more traditional packaging options, aluminum provides a strong barrier to help maintain stability and shelf life.”
Same Pills, Same Price
The new bottles are lighter than their plastic counterparts, though CVS did not answer TrendKia's question about exactly how much they weigh. The medication inside stays the same, even if the pills might rattle around a little more loudly now. The company has also confirmed that it is not raising the price of the bottles after the change in materials.
Recycling Still Takes the Same Steps
The aluminum bottles will indeed be easier to recycle, but Wier says shoppers still have to do the same things they did with the plastic ones to recycle them properly, such as taking off the label and the cap. The caps on the aluminum bottles are the same caps used on the plastic versions, and they don't go in the same bin as the base of the bottle.
The Bigger Motive
Recyclability looks more like an added bonus for CVS than the main reason behind the move to aluminum. The shift is part of a brand refresh, arriving a little over a year after the company downsized by closing 270 stores across the US. In statements posted online, CVS says it is redesigning its branding to make medications easier to find. It is likely also an attempt to soften the impression customers get when they walk into a CVS and see nearly everything locked up to deter shoplifting.
Limited to Select Medicines for Now
At the moment, the aluminum bottles are available only for select over-the-counter medications. CVS says it wants to see how customers react before extending the aluminum bottles to more medicines or using them for prescription orders.
