You can recycle contact lenses for free for the first time

You might have heard that flushing your contact lenses down the toilet is pretty bad.

But until now, there wasn’t a great solution.

For the first time, you can recycle your contact lenses for free.

Previously, recycling the lenses was difficult and expensive – meaning most of the UK’s 3.7 million contact lens wearers either threw them away or flushed them down the toilet.

The new scheme, run by Johnson & Johnson, is the UK’s first free nationwide programme which enables consumers to easily recycle their contact lenses and the blister foil packaging after use.

And it’s available to all soft contact lens wearers regardless of which brand they use.

You can have your old lenses collected or you can drop them off at opticians across the UK, including branches of Boots Opticians.

The lenses will then be turned into new products like outdoor furniture.

‘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,’ said Sandra Rasche, Area Vice President at Johnson & Johnson Vision.

‘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 programme represents the next step in our company’s sustainability commitment.’

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