Healthcare Company Keeps Over 450,000 Pounds of Harmful Waste Out of Landfills

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Contact lens company Bausch + Lomb is taking bold action to address a unique yet growing issue: contact lens and packaging waste. Through its innovative ONE by ONE and Biotrue Eye Care recycling programs, the company has already diverted over 464,000 pounds of materials from U.S. landfills and waterways since 2016.

Contact lenses and their packaging materials pose a significant recycling challenge due to their small size and the specialized plastics they are made from, which standard recycling systems cannot process. As a result, many consumers simply toss their contact lenses in the trash or flush them, which contributes to microplastic pollution in oceans and waterways. Around 6.6 to 11 tons of contact lenses end up in U.S. wastewater yearly, damaging marine ecosystems and potentially entering the food chain.

To address this issue, Bausch + Lomb launched its ONE by ONE Recycling Program in 2016. This initiative allows consumers to drop off used lenses, blister packs, and top foils at nearly 14,000 optometry practices across the U.S. Once collected, the materials are sent to TerraCycle®, where they are cleaned and repurposed into new products.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com