It may be surprising to learn that hundreds of millions of pharmaceutical blister packs go into landfill every year.
Blister packs are the most common form of packaging for tablet-form medications due to their convenience and low manufacturing cost. The downside is that they’re reported as being the most common item found in landfill waste. Research also reveals that huge volumes of blister packs are being incorrectly placed in kerbside recycling bins, leading to contamination of other recyclable materials.
Until two years ago the recycling of blister packs wasn’t possible due to their small size and multi-material composition which includes aluminium film and PVC plastic. This situation has now changed due to an innovative recycling initiative that started two years ago.
Pharmacycle is Australia’s first and only end-to-end recycling program for household and commercial medicinal blister pack waste. The company’s specialised recycling technology means there’s no stockpiling of the packs and that all material is processed right here in Australia.
With more than 400 chemists across Australia now acting as blister pack collection points for Pharmacycle, these nasty little waste items no longer have to go into landfill. All the collected blister packs are sent to a special recycling facility run by Pharmacycle where the aluminium and plastics are separated so that 100 per cent of the materials can be recycled.
The program is proving to be a great success. More than 30 million blister packs have already been diverted from landfill. Clean Up Australia is undoubtedly also happy as blister packs were high on the list of items Australians wished they could recycle.
So, if you consume any medications in blister packs, you can now be part of the solution by dropping off your empty packs at a participating chemist. There’s drop off points located in many areas across WA from Geraldton in the north to Albany in the south with literally dozens of participating chemists in and around Perth.
Just look for the tall blue box next time you’re at your local chemist or ask the pharmacy staff if they’d consider joining the Pharmacycle program.
To find your closest recycling drop off point or to learn more go to www.pharmacycle.com.au.