Tackling Biomedical Plastic Waste in Growing Plasma Business

As patient demand for plasma-derived therapies grows, so does the volume of single-use plastic needed to support plasma collection at scale, and we are investing in innovative solutions to keep our commitments to both patients and the planet.

As one part of our industry-leading commitment to the planet, we aim to achieve zero waste-to-landfill status for all major locations by fiscal year 2030.

We invested $10 million to build a state-of-the-art biomedical plastic waste processing facility at our Covington, GA, plasma manufacturing facility, a 1.1 million square foot campus located east of Atlanta that manufactures immunoglobulin and albumin therapies to treat patients with rare diseases like primary immunodeficiency and those in critical care situations. The campus also contains one of our BioLife Testing Laboratories, which tests samples of each plasma donation – collected in plastic test tubes.

The 8,000 square foot biomedical plastic waste processing facility is equipped with specialized equipment to sterilize and shred the millions of plastic bottles and test tubes that pass through the Covington site annually.

Plastic from the facility is sent to regional recyclers to be converted into a variety of items like containers, pallets, cable reels, fencing, and flooring, diverting waste from the landfill and reducing the amount of virgin plastic used in creating new materials.

Biomedical plastic waste is a challenge across the healthcare sector, but one that Takeda is tackling using a variety of methods across the globe.

Giles Platford, president of Takeda’s Plasma-Derived Therapies Business Unit, emphasized the importance of finding and prioritizing sustainable solutions amidst the growing demand for plasma-derived treatments.

"As our plasma business continues to grow and evolve to meet increasing patient demand, it’s critical that we employ sustainable solutions across our entire supply chain from donation to manufacturing to distribution,” said Platford. “These efforts not only have a significant environmental impact but continue to improve efficiency and agility, core focuses as we work to best serve the patients who rely on our products.”

The biomedical plastic waste processing facility at our Covington site is part of a joint project that includes an additional $4 million investment in a smaller scale version of the same technology at our BioLife Testing Laboratory in Hoover, AL.

Between the two locations, more than 1.7 million pounds of plastic will be diverted from the landfill in Takeda’s fiscal year 2025, accounting for over 22 percent of the Covington site’s entire waste and over 85 percent of our testing labs’ waste. The amount of biomedical plastic waste diverted from the landfill is expected to grow to more than 2.6 million pounds by fiscal year 2030, the equivalent weight of nearly 9 adult male blue whales, the world’s largest animal.

Shredding the biomedical plastic waste onsite improves operational logistics while working with recyclers is less expensive than transporting the waste to be shredded and sterilized offsite.

“These efforts divert waste from landfill, save resources, reduce costs and logistical challenges at our site and support our state’s economy by supplying recycled plastic to regional companies to manufacture new products,” said Covington Site Head Cyril Buckley said.

These investments are part of a dedicated company-wide sustainability program at all Takeda sites across the globe aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing freshwater withdrawals and diverting waste from landfills.