(PRESS RELEASE) DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Following the launch of the Kick Plastic Lens Recycling Program for ECPs in March, Costa announces in time for Vision Expo West 2019 that optical labs are now able to send both their plastic lens waste as well as any dry plastic finishing “swarf” (plastic lens waste) to 13 Piedmont Plastics locations for recycling and repurposing.
The Kick Plasitc Lens Recycling Program has facilitated the recycling of over 700 pounds of discarded plastic lenses at two Piedmont Plastics locations. This is in addition to over 22 tons (approximately 44,000 pounds) of plastic recycling processed from Costa’s Daytona Beach lab.
Protecting the oceans it calls home is one of Costa’s main brand values, and it inspired the company’s larger Kick Plastic initiative to raise awareness for how waste from single-use plastic pollutes them. Plastic takes over 400 years to decompose , and an estimated 420 million plastic lenses (including new purchases and redos ) are disposed by the optical industry every two years.
The program launched earlier this year encourages optical practices to collect and recycle discarded plastic lenses (including clear demo, tinted, photochromic, sunwear, mirror, AR-coated, broken/scratched, prescription, CR-39, high index, polycarbonate, and Trivex/Hivex).
“The early response to our Kick Plastic Lens Recycling Program has confirmed our belief that there is a strong will to do right for the planet from eyecare professionals, given the right tools,” said T.J. McMeniman, vice president of marketing, Costa. “We strive to identify ways to protect what we love and share this learning with our partners. Expanding the program to the hundreds of labs across the US is a way for us to scale our efforts as an industry and create more impact.”
“As the recent recipient of the IAPD Silver-Level Environmental Excellence Award, which celebrates environmentally responsible practices, we are very proud to partner with Costa on the Kick Plastic Lens Recycling program. Costa is a steward of the environment and the Kick Plastic lens recycling program is an excellent example of how our companies work together to impact such an important initiative,” said Marty Sparks, spokesperson for Piedmont Plastics.
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Labs can now send all discarded plastic optical lens waste and dry plastic finishing swarf directly to select Piedmont Plastics locations, where it will be recycled and repurposed into safety glasses, motorcycle helmet shields and scuba masks.
To better accommodate a national roll out of the program, Costa and Piedmont Plastics have expanded the number of locations able to accept plastic optical lens waste from two to 13:
• Atlanta 2410 Tech Center Parkway, Suite 150, Lawrenceville, GA 30043
• Birmingham 171 Business Center Drive, Birmingham, AL 35244
• California 17000 Valley View Ave, La Mirada, CA 90638
• Charlotte 5010 W WT Harris Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28269
• Columbus 460-A Schrock Road, Columbus, OH 43229
• Daytona 2175 Mason Ave., Daytona Beach, FL 32117
• Houston 13279 N. Promenade Blvd, Stafford, TX 77477
• Las Vegas 5180 Cameron St. Suite 1, Las Vegas, NV 89118
• Mass. 360 Cedar Hill Street, Suite 100, Marlborough, MA 01752
• Memphis 4105 Hickory Hill Road Ste., 105 Memphis, TN 38115
• Phoenix 5720 South 40th Street Ste 3, Phoenix, AZ 85040
• Pompano Beach 3147 N. Andrews Ave. Extension, Pompano Beach, FL 33064
• Tampa Bay 8615 126th Avenue North Suite 600, Largo, FL 33773
ECP’s who want to get involved and who are Costa dealers can also become Costa Kick Plastic Ambassadors – in return for their support, they receive a special designation on the Costa dealer locator website, as well as Kick Plastic water bottles for their staff and communication materials to encourage patients to join the movement and #kickplastic.
Labs and ECPs interested in participating in the lens recycling program (both Costa dealers and non-Costa dealers) can contact Costa at lensrecycle@costadelmar.com for more information.
