(PRESS RELEASE) Alcon, the global leader in eye care dedicated to helping people see brilliantly, has earned the GreenCircle Zero Waste to Landfill Certification for three of its ophthalmic drop and solutions manufacturing facilities – two in Fort Worth, Texas, and one in Singapore. Each of the three facilities, which supply Alcon products to markets around the world, diverted 100% of total waste from landfills. With this achievement, Alcon is the first healthcare company to be GreenCircle Certified for Zero Waste to Landfill operations.
“Alcon teams continually focus on innovative ways to streamline our manufacturing processes to reduce operational waste, and I’m extremely proud to achieve GreenCircle certification as a testament to our commitment,” said Ed McGough, Alcon’s senior vice president of Manufacturing and Technical Operations. “At Alcon, we strive to improve our environmental footprint through responsible business practices while also strengthening the communities in which we live and work.”
The three GreenCircle-certified facilities manufacture many of Alcon’s over-the-counter (OTC) eye care products, including:
- OPTI-FREE Contact Lens Solutions, the No. 1 selling global brand of contact lens care solutions;
- AO SEPT PLUS and CLEAR CARE Contact Lens Solutions, the top-selling peroxide lens care solutions globally;
- PATADAY Allergy Eye Drops, the top-selling OTC eye allergy drops in the U.S.; and
- SYSTANE Dry Eye Drops, the leading global artificial tear brand.
In addition, Alcon’s Fort Worth ASPEX facility manufactures surgical procedural and pharmaceutical eye drops as well as BSS, a sterile intraocular irrigating solution commonly used during surgical procedures.
“The GreenCircle Zero Waste to Landfill Certification demonstrates absolute commitment to waste minimization and diversion as it requires 100% of waste to be diverted from landfills,” said Tad Radzinski, Certification Officer at GreenCircle. “Often, manufacturing sites do not qualify their first time audited and need to make revisions to their waste management process to work towards this goal. We commend Alcon for earning this certification for all three of these manufacturing plants with their first GreenCircle audit.”
GreenCircle Certified, LLC is an internationally recognized third-party certification entity whose thorough evaluation process provides independent verification that sustainability claims related to an organization’s products and operations are honest, valid and verified. GreenCircle Certification is recognized as a valid third-party certification entity by the U.S. Federal Government, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR).