“As a result of the contributions of eye care professionals, patients and consumers, these award-winning programs continue to help keep recyclable plastic and aluminum eye health packaging materials out of landfills and oceans,” said Amy Butler, vice president, Global Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, Bausch + Lomb.
Contact lenses, eye care and lens care materials aren’t typically processed in standard recycling facilities due to the small size and the type of plastic used to manufacture them. As a result, they can end up in landfills or waterways. In the United States, it is estimated that six to 10 metric tons of contact lenses end up in wastewater each year, which can pollute aquatic environments and eventually impact the human food supply.
“My patients appreciate being able to recycle their used eye health materials through the Bausch + Lomb recycling programs in an environmentally responsible way,” said Jennifer Tsai, O.D., LINE OF SIGHT, New York. “It allows them, and our practice, to be part of the solution.”
The ONE by ONE Recycling program has collected more than 76 million used contact lenses, blister packs and top foils since the program’s launch in November 2016. The Biotrue Eye Care Recycling program, which launched in April 2021, has collected more than 645,000 eye drop single dose units, lens cases, lens solution caps as well as all Biotrue-branded eye drops bottles (lens solution bottles are recyclable through standard recycling in accordance with local recycling guidelines).