Boots have launched a blister pack recycling pilot, which includes two locations on the Isle of Wight.
Customers can now drop off their used medication blister packs to the Ryde branch, as well as Shanklin.
Readers will remember in 2023 Islanders had begun sending their empty medication blister packs to the Isle of Wight MP, Bob Seely, in an attempt to raise awareness for special recycling facilities.
A problem to recycle
Medication blister pack is one of the items that has been a problem to recycle on the Island.
In addition, in an area where there is a larger than average older population, with many taking more than one type of medication daily, the amount of blister packs heading to landfill is substantial.
Gourlay: Assurance that materials will be given a second life
So eco-conscious residents will be pleased to hear how Boots are helping them swerve their blister packs from landfill.
Natalie Gourlay, Head of ESG at Boots, said,
“At Boots we want to make it easy for our customers to make sustainable choices for a healthy planet – from the products they buy to how they dispose of the packaging once they have used them.
“Customers can now simply drop off their empty blister packs at Boots with the assurance that the materials will be given a second life and get rewarded for it too just like they can when they drop off other hard-to-recycle empties through Recycle at Boots.
“We will be taking the learnings of this initial pilot on board as we look to roll the scheme out more widely within the next year.”
What happens to the blister packs?
After the blister packs or health and beauty empties have been dropped off at Boots stores, they are sent to MYGroup to be separated using a specialised machine.
The metal foil is recycled conventionally, as aluminium is infinitely recyclable, while the plastic is processed into a useable form again, where possible, or made into a material called MYBoardTM to be used for construction, furniture and more.
Rewards for recycling
Boots say that the blister pack recycling scheme is an extension of their popular Recycle at Boots initiative, which rewards customers for bringing empty health and beauty products — that cannot be recycled at home — to collection bins at Boots.
Boots Advantage Card holders will receive 150 Boots Advantage Card points when they recycle 15 empty blister packs and spend £10 or more in store.
How it works
The new blister pack recycling scheme is delivered using technology partner Metrisk and recycling partner MYGroup.
The Recycle at Boots initiative is brand agnostic, meaning that customers can recycle blister packs from any brand and track their recycling, as long as they have a Boots Advantage Card. To recycle blister packs, customers must:
- Create an account with Scan2Recycle, or login to their existing account
- Log empty blister packs into Scan2Recyle and wait for up to 24 hours until they are validated
- Bring their empty packs into a participating Boots store and scan the QR code on the blister pack deposit box
