Group takes on contact lens waste challenge

Black & Lizars has joined the Johnson & Johnson Vision Acuvue contact lens recycling initiative with the installation of recycling bins at all 12 stores across Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The group said it aimed to recycle 30,000 lenses by the end of the year and stop its 8,000 contact-wearing customers improperly disposing of their lenses.

Graham Freeman, clinical services manager at Black & Lizars, said: ‘While there has been a lot of work done to educate people on plastic straws and single-use bags, other household items have not received the same attention.

‘When you consider that there are some four million contact lens wearers in the UK, and with more than 20% admitting to flushing them down the toilet on a regular basis, you begin to comprehend the extent of the environmental impact.’