Johnson & Johnson Vision Launches the UK’s First Free Nationwide Recycling Program for all Contact Lenses
Johnson & Johnson Vision has launched the Acuvue Contact Lens Recycle Program, the UK’s first free nationwide program that enables consumers to easily recycle their contact lenses and the blister and foil packaging after use. The program is available to all soft contact lens wearers regardless of which contact lens brand they use.
The program aims to reduce plastic waste in landfills and waterways by providing a simple and practical alternative to the UK’s 3.7 million contact wearers, including the 20% of wearers who reported that they currently dispose of their lenses by flushing them down the toilet or the sink. The end result will see the recycled contact lenses, blister and foil packaging turned into new products such as outdoor furniture and plastic lumber.
Over two-thirds (70%) of consumers are confused about the types of household items they can recycle, according to recent research by Johnson & Johnson Vision. And this is no different for contact lenses, where over a third (39%) of contact lenses wearers aren’t sure or believe they can recycle lenses. In reality, while not impossible, recycling contact lenses is challenging, where consumers must proactively seek out a paid-for recycling partner.
“Seventy-seven percent of British contact lens wearers said they would recycle their contact lenses if they could and we share their interest in reducing the amount of plastics in the environment,” Sandra Rasche, Area Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Vision Care, Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH, said in a company news release. “As a business, we are committed to doing our part to combat climate change, protect our planet’s natural resources and reduce waste, and this new UK recycling program represents the next step in our company’s sustainability commitment.”
Consumers will have the option of either having their contact lens material collected, or simply dropping it off through a network of recycling bins at public drop-off locations at optical stores across the UK, including high street retailer Boots Opticians Ltd. The recycling partnership with Boots Opticians and a number of independent stores, aims over time to provide over 1,000 public drop-off recycling locations for contact lens waste across the UK.
Johnson & Johnson Vision is collaborating with TerraCycle, a leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste to run the program. Open for all in the UK, contact lens wearers are encouraged to check the Acuvue and TerraCycle websites for details on their nearest public drop-off location points or to recycle from home via courier collection.