Introduction. Various industries, including pharmaceuticals, are actively participating in the growing trend towards sustainable development. One of the most important areas is reducing the amount of non-biodegradable plastic. However, in the pharmaceutical industry, which performs an important social function, polymeric materials are used to produce packaging that ensures the proper quality of drugs. Therefore, the implementation of approaches that meet the principles of sustainability is not always appropriate and environmentally valuable. The aim of the work is to develop basic approaches to the implementation and use of polymer packaging that meets the principles of sustainable development in the pharmaceutical industry. Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the scientific study was a set of research methods: bibliographic, analytical, conceptual, structural-functional and comparative analysis. The sources of information were analyzed, including professional literature, scientific articles, methodological recommendations, regulatory legal acts, as well as explanations to them. Results. The main problems and limitations preventing the use of packaging in pharmaceutical practice that fully meets the concept of sustainable development are identified, both at the level of materials used in the production of such packaging and in the case of recycling of used packaging; ways to improve legislation in terms of handling pharmaceutical packaging are proposed; requirements for sustainable packaging for its use in pharmaceutical practice are defined. Conclusion. Optimization of package sizes, reduction of the amount of materials, transition to mono-component packaging, as well as the use of biodegradable polymers seem to be the most realistic of the existing approaches, especially in the case of using sustainable packaging as secondary and group (transport) packaging. Effective recycling of polymeric materials of pharmaceutical packaging, including those generated in households, is associated with a number of difficulties. Implementation is impossible without creating an infrastructure for the separate collection of medical waste. The use of secondary materials in the production of pharmaceutical packaging is impossible, since it contradicts the principles of good manufacturing practice. At the same time, if conditions are formed at the legislative level, it is possible in a number of industries to use medical waste as secondary raw materials.

sustainable development, pharmaceutical packaging, quality assurance, biodegradable materials, polymer processing.