For its program, Bausch + Lomb partners with a company called TerraCycle that specializes in recycling smaller items that wouldn't normally get separated in the standard process. The issue with lenses is to deal with not only them but their packaging made up of foil and plastic, which has to be separated in order to go to recycling plants, said Rick Zultner, director of process and product development for TerraCycle.
In addition to cost, some people object to the amount of waste created by disposable products. While contact lenses and blister packs can't be recycled locally, they can be collected and periodically sent to
TerraCycle for recycling. This program is sponsored by Bausch + Lomb, but all brands of lenses and blister packs are accepted. The cardboard boxes that lenses come in can simply be recycled as usual.
Binyon Vision Center has partnered with
Bausch + Lomb, an eye health company, and
TerraCycleto provide contact wearers a place to recycle opened blister packs, top foil, plastic and used contact lenses. “We take care of shipping everything and making sure it gets recycled properly,” says Bruno.
NEW YORK—Bust out those reusable bags and ditch the plastic straws because tomorrow is Earth Day. This year’s theme is all about plastics (FYI they weren’t just the ruthless posse in “Mean Girls”). Plastic pollution poses a major threat to the well-being of the planet and everything on it. With tomorrow marking the 48th annual celebration of
Earth Day, the theme is centered on ending plastic pollution.
Global eye health company Bausch + Lomb
announced today that its ONE by ONE Recycling Program, the first contact lens recycling program of its kind, has recycled nearly 2.5 million used contact lenses, blister packs and top foil since its launch last year. This is equivalent to more than 14,000 pounds of waste, about the weight of a small aircraft. Collection is offered free of charge through a collaboration with
TerraCycle®, a company dedicated to repurposing hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste.
LAVAL, Quebec—
Bausch + Lomb announced that its One by One Recycling Program—the first contact lens recycling program of its kind—has recycled nearly 2.5 million used contact lenses, blister packs and top foils since the program launched in November 2016, diverting more than 14,000 pounds of waste from landfills. The program is made possible through a collaboration with
TerraCycle, a leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste. Available to eyecare professionals and their patients across the U.S., the Bausch + Lomb One by One Recycling Program works by providing participating practices with large recycling bins to collect used contact lenses, blister packs and top foil.
Ah, the blister pack, used to package everything from medications to toys. Perhaps the
only thing harder than opening these plastic containers is determining whether or not they are recyclable. Blister packs fall into the catch-all category of
rigid plastics, similar to plastic cups, yogurt containers and clamshell packaging. While the recycling market was first limited for rigid plastics due to the challenges of transporting them (they can’t be crushed and baled like plastic bottles), more and more communities are now accepting them in curbside programs.
Sydney Optometrist Icon Eyewear is diverting used contact lenses from landfill, as part of a national recycling program operated by TerraCycle and Bausch + Lomb.
When it comes to today’s purchasing habits, corporate social responsibility (CSR) or social purpose, are “the new black” to many consumers. As one of the leading eye health companies, Bausch + Lomb has managed to keep its eye on the sustainability prize with its ONE by ONE Recycling Program. The program, made possible through a collaboration with TerraCycle, a world leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste, has diverted more than 7,000 pounds of waste from landfills, and has helped create new post-consumer products.
Eye care professionals registered with the ONE by ONE scheme are provided with recycling bins so that patients can bring contact lens materials from home and the practice can collect lenses used within the office; all items are then sent to TerraCycle for recycling.
