Recycle Disposable Contact Lenses

The proper way to recycle contacts would be to simply research locations on the site of the “one by one” recycle program where one can fall off your contacts. “Contact lenses and blister packs are considered non-recyclable through municipal facilities because they are too small to be captured by standard sorting machinery,” said a spokesperson for the company in a press release. Every location taking part in the program will accept any make of disposable contact lens, blister pack packaging and the cardboard boxes in which they are sold.
In this manner the plastic can be used for manufacturing services. Although most lens packages are stamped No. 5 for recycling, according to Terracycle, the size is what causes them to either contaminate other recyclable materials or be diverted to landfills. In fact, The Association of Plastic Recyclers confirms this fact, stating that the industry standard screen size, which identifies and removes unrecyclable plastics, filters out materials that measure significantly less than three inches in diameter. Meaning standard recycling facilities are unable to process these small items. Also, when dropping off your contacts and blister packs, do not include paperboard or cardboard packaging. You can usually include these materials together with your other clean household paper recycling.

THE MAIN ONE by ONE Recycling Program has caught on rapidly in my practice. The level of interest among my patients is growing much faster than I anticipated. Patients appreciate that not only am I offering them what I really believe are the best contact lenses because of their eyes, but I’m also focused on making sure the materials left over can be recycled.
After manual separation, the remaining material is shredded, and the blister pack foil lids are separated from the plastic materials (if they aren’t already). The plastic is then melted and extruded into plastic pellets, and the foil lids and metals from the blister packs are sent for smelting and metals recycling. Any additional metal material is filtered out during the extrusion process.

Dont Flush Contacts Recycle Them

Contact lenses could be a lifesaver, but after they result in the trash, they tend to do more harm than good. As a recently available Bard MBA Sustainability graduate, Sarah is excited to be a contributing writer to TriplePundit to show how environmentally and socially responsible business is synonymous with stronger returns and a far more sustainable world.
“The study showed that wastewater plants fragment them into microplastics, which accumulate in sewage sludge. For about every two pounds of wastewater sludge, a set of contact lenses typically are available,” according to an article about the project on Arizona State University’s website. Whenever your local optician does not participate in the program of Terracycle yet perhaps you can motivate her or him to do it later on. This way fewer packages would be sent and it’s likely that higher lens wearers get informed about how exactly to recycle their contacts directly right away. They are therefore not suitable for disposal in organic waste or the toilet or in the sink! You will find the green dot to remain most lens packaging. You should therefore get rid of the contact lenses correctly in the trash.

• Small changes can reduce your personal impact on the environment in many ways.
• When your local optician does not participate in the program of Terracycle yet maybe you can motivate her or him to do it in the foreseeable future.
• You may still be able to recycle the plastic portion if it’s a kind of plastic your handler accepts.
• We’ve gone through a few don’ts regarding disposal of contacts.
• Did you know, though, that 45 million Americans who wear contact lenses flush ranging from 1.8 and 3.36 billion lenses down the toilet or sink each year?

their packaging. Having an estimated 45 million people in america wearing contacts, about 1.8 billion to 3.36 billion lenses are flushed per year. Fifteen to 20 percent of lens wearers dispose of the lenses down the sink or toilet. In 2018, an Arizona State University study of contact lens wearers found 15-20% of these were flushing their old contacts down the toilet or washing them down the sink’s drain. —a global fundraising initiative looking to solve unnecessary blindness and vision impairment. From the makers of INFUSE® and Biotrue® ONEday, this one-of-a-kind program can help you properly recycle contact lens waste through TerraCycle® to benefit a lot more than just the planet. Bausch + Lomb has sponsored this free recycling program, so there is absolutely no direct cost for you.

Recycle Your Contact Lenses And Packaging

items an incredible number of us use everyday. Contacts, when improperly discarded, likely create contaminating microplastics. Your contacts and packaging are turned into “a selection of post-consumer products, such as for example recycled picnic tables and garden beds,” Amy Butler, vice president of global environment, health, safety and sustainability at Bausch Health, said in 2018. When you usually do not want to visit your neighborhood optician to participate in the recycling program you can also ship your old contacts to Terracycle. You simply have to sign in with their website and they will even offer you prepaid shipping labels. With regards to recycling, you may not often consider something as small as your contact lenses.

• Or, send a year’s worth via mail with a free of charge shipping label.
• contribute to the trillions of microplastics that contaminate our water supply, harming fish, and entering the meals supply.
• Unfortunately, the survey also revealed that some 21 percent of respondents said they have done nothing and have no plans to accomplish anything about the issue of microplastics.
• The collections are then sent for manual separation, where any non-compliant materials are removed.

Launched in 2016, this first-of-its-kind recycling initiative has already collected and recycled nearly 30 million contact lenses, blister packs and top foils and processed about 180,000 pounds — the same weight of six school buses. Contact lens wear is a day to day routine for millions nationwide. Unfortunately, this means that millions of lenses, blister packs, and top foils are also thrown away each day, having a negative impact on the environment.

That way you understand you’re inserting clean, sanitary ones each and every time. Think about recycling your contact lenses as a “win-win” with little effort on your part. Your contacts and their packaging are recycled, and you’re helping programs to prevent blindness. You don’t need to wash the contact-lens waste before you recycle it, nevertheless, you should be sure the blister packs are free from liquid. “Due with their size and packaging materials, recycling facilities typically cannot handle lens processing, so they are diverted to landfills,” mindbodygreen.com says. You might not, however, have considered recycling your old contact lenses.