In focus: Safe contact lens disposal

Arecent study by Arizona State University in the USA has highlighted that 19% of contact lens users regularly flush their lenses down a drain, which has increasingly added to plastic pollution in oceans and rivers. This has amounted to 20 to 23 metric tons of wastewater-borne plastics every year. The research team discovered lenses can end up being consumed by marine life, running the risk of eventually being present in food eaten by humans.

During the study, scientists looked at a total of 13 different contact lens brands made from nine types of plastic polymers. They observed the lenses travelling through the waste water system and saw their structural strength break down and the smaller plastic particles turn into tiny microplastics. These can end up in surface waters where they can accumulate and pollute the environment.