Contact Lens Recycling
While daily replacement soft contact lenses are often considered the healthiest and most comfortable option for patients, there is a legitimate concern about the additional plastic waste from many more contact lens blister packs.
Love contact lenses, but hate waste?
To address the environmental impact of contact lenses, TerraCycle and Bausch + Lomb have partnered up to create a one-of-a-kind program to help you properly recycle contact lens waste from any/all contact lens brands. Participating in this program is completely free and easy:
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HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
This is a free recycling program sponsored by Bausch + Lomb. There is no direct cost to you.
WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED?
Used contact lenses, empty plastic blister packs, and separated metal/foil seal tops from any/all brands. Do not include cardboard packaging in your drop-offs, as those are recyclable via your standard municipal recycling.
WHERE DO I BRING THEM?
Both of our offices participate in this contact lens recycling program. Bring these items to either location: Bartlett Eye Clinic or Magnolia Eye Care.
DO I NEED TO CLEAN THEM FIRST?
No, you do not need to clean the packaging before dropping it off. However, we cannot accept dripping items, so please make sure your items are dry.
RECYCLING TIPS?
Keep a small waterproof bag/jar or container in the bathroom, and toss the following components (can be all together) into your container whenever you insert or remove your contact lenses:
- used contact lenses,
- empty plastic blister packs, and
- metal/foil seal tops.
When your container is full, bring it to our office(s) for free recycling!
WHERE/WHEN DOES IT GO?
To minimize the transportation carbon footprint for this program, we wait until our large recycling box is full before shipping it to TerraCycle for recycling. TerraCycle will separate the lenses from their blister packs and clean them. The foil is recycled separately, while the lenses and blister packs are melted together to form other products.
For every 10 pounds collected, Bausch + Lomb also donates $10 to Optometry Giving Sight – a global fundraising initiative aiming to solve unnecessary blindness and vision impairment.
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