In July 2026, SmartSolve and Safetec partnered to launch sustainable water-soluble packaging with medical waste solidification to improve OR safety, simplify workflow, and reduce packaging waste as well. Innovation in healthcare packaging majorly focuses on sterile barriers, drug delivery systems, or sustainability initiatives. But innovation also helps to resolve an issue involving incidents such as what happens after a procedure ends.
For Safetec of America, a manufacturer of infection control, first aid, and compliance products, the problem centered on safely handling liquid medical waste in operating rooms. In partnership with SmartSolve, the company has introduced a self-dissolving, zero-waste pouch that also delivers medical waste solidifier directly into suction canisters, without the help of any healthcare workers to cut open, measure, or pour the contents. The technology helps to simplify the routine, but important task while reducing packaging waste and minimizing opportunities for exposure to infectious fluids.
The base material of the innovation, which many people are unaware of, is “water-soluble paper.”
“Everything in the SmartSolve portfolio is paper-based and water soluble, and that’s not exactly a household term yet,” explains Ashleigh Hotz, senior director of sales and marketing at SmartSolve. “Most people don’t know that there is technically a dissolving paper out there because it’s traditionally been used in very back-of-house applications.”
Instead of relying on harmful and non-degradable materials such as plastic or multi-material laminates, the material used for innovation is primarily made from wood pulp fibers combined with carboxymethyl cellulose.
“You can think of it like a chain-link fence,” says Hotz. “Once the material comes in contact with water, those wood pulp fibers start to separate, but they remain. Everything that remains is flushable, meeting, and actually exceeding, the same standards used for toilet paper and flushable wipes.”
SmartSolve coats the dissolving substrate to create innovative packaging technologies, inclusive of pressure-sensitive labels and flexible packaging as well. The company’s application uses the flexible pouch format to contain its medical waste solidifier.
For the company, the main motive of innovation was not just sustainability, but also workflow. Operating rooms are spaces where efficiency and worker safety go hand in hand. Previously, the traditional routine involved the workers opening a packet, measuring the correct amount of solidifier, and pouring it into a suction canister containing liquid medical waste. The procedure worked, but it also required additional handling steps in the middle of a busy workflow.
“We were looking for something that would eliminate that step of having to cut, measure, and pour,” says Victoria Robinson, marketing manager at Safetec. “With SmartSolve’s packaging, we were able to put our medical-grade solidifier inside a convenient package that you literally just drop in and let it do its thing.”
The pouch itself dissolves almost immediately upon contact with the liquid, allowing the solidifier to begin working without delay.
“I’ve seen it solidify anywhere from 30 seconds to one minute, depending on how much liquid is in the container,” Robinson says. “The packaging dissolves so fast that the solidifier reaches the contents much quicker.”
The dimensions of the pouch were also engineered specifically for the application, fitting perfectly into the porthole of a suction canister.
OSHA compliance is a major concern while handling medical waste because of spills and splashes that can expose healthcare workers and potential patients to infectious bodily fluids.
"Think about when you're handling liquids, even for us as average people…you drop a gallon of milk on the floor, and it splatters everywhere," explains Robinson. "It's the same kind of idea in the medical space. If you have liquid bodily fluids and there's a hole in the bag, the contents will go everywhere, which is not safe for patients or healthcare workers."
“When you solidify that product, it helps alleviate some of that potential for being infected by the waste if it does happen to spill or splash,” she says.
The simplified, prefilled package also helps to lower the chances of accidental spills of the solidifier itself, along with eliminating measuring errors and reducing handling time. Though the company doesn’t have formal usability studies from the operating room staff. Robinson says feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.
“People absolutely love it,” she says. “For people who have been using your traditional cut-and-pour pouch, this is just so much easier.”
The drop-in pouch also helps to change the waste stream. Traditional packaging formats mainly rely on plastic bottles or tear-open pouches that must be discarded after use. The SmartSolve unique package dissolves completely during use itself. For the brand, sustainability matters more than just reducing the use of plastic.
Instead of trying to improve recycling rates for difficult-to-process materials, SmartSolve approaches the problem differently.
“Our materials are designed to dissolve in water and biodegrade instead of persisting as mixed materials do,” says Hotz. “For healthcare organizations measuring their environmental footprint, that changes both the volume of durable waste headed to the landfill and the environmental profile of what’s left behind.”
31 July 2026
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30 July 2026
30 July 2026