In focus: Full transparency

Positive steps were taken in the battle to reduce the volume of waste contact lenses last week with the rollout of the first nationwide contact lens recycling innovative.

Run by Johnson & Johnson, in partnership with Terracycle, the Acuvue-branded programme will be rolled out in Boots Opticians practices and selected independents around the country and will cater for all brands of soft lens and associated blister and foil packaging. The lenses will be turned into outdoor furniture and plastic lumber.

Kamlesh Chauhan, director, professional affairs UK & Ireland, Johnson & Johnson Medical, said awareness around the issue of contact lens recycling had increased, prompting the company to act. ‘Over the past two years, the number of enquiries the company received as to whether contact lenses could be recycled grew significantly,’ he said, adding that the Blue Planet documentary seemed a watershed moment in people’s thinking on plastic waste.