New website guides patients, ECPs through proper disposal of contact lenses
Key takeaways:
- SustainableEyecare.com offers downloadable infographics on the safe and efficient disposal of contact lenses.
- Recycling programs by CooperVision and Bausch + Lomb aim to offset their plastic use.
In recognition of Earth Day 2025, which falls on April 22, members of the eye care industry shared updates on their efforts to mitigate the environmental impact of contact lenses and other plastic products.
The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has launched a website to help eye care professionals and patients alike more efficiently dispose of contact lenses and other eye care products, according to a press release from the group.
CORE’s SustainableEyeCare.com offers downloadable infographics that explore the impact of contact lens waste and explain how contacts can be safely disposed of in different countries. It also features a directory of recycling programs for contact lenses and spectacles worldwide.
“The impact of discarded contact lenses and other eye wear appliances on the environment is something that many patients now bring up in conversations with practitioners, friends and colleagues,” Lyndon Jones, BSc, PhD, DSc, FCAHS, FCOptom, DipCLP, DipOrth, FAAO, FIACLE, FBCLA, director of CORE at the University of Waterloo, told Healio. “SustainableEyecare.com is a unique, one-stop shop that provides a treasure trove of information on how to best dispose of these appliances and infographics that can help practitioners in these conversations.”
In a pair of press releases, CooperVision and Bausch + Lomb also touted the results of their own recycling programs.
Two recycling programs by Bausch + Lomb, One by One Recycling and the Biotrue Eye Care Recycling program, have now collected more than 101 million and more than 1.3 million eye care products, respectively, since they were launched, according to a Bausch + Lomb press release.
Both programs enable consumers to properly recycle eye care products in partnership with the recycling company TerraCycle, which melts them into plastic pellets for use in new products. The One by One program allows for contact lenses and other products to be dropped off at participating practices and shipped to TerraCycle, while the Biotrue Eye Care Recycling program allows consumers to mail certain products, including Biotrue-branded eye drop bottles, to TerraCycle themselves.
“From used contact lens materials to lens cases, the small plastics in our eye care routines can add up. Often referred to as forgotten waste streams, these materials are generally overlooked due to their size and everyday presence,” Amy Butler, vice president of global environment, health, safety and sustainability at Bausch + Lomb, told Healio. “Together these two distinct programs help ensure these materials are properly collected and repurposed into new recycled products, helping to prevent them from ending up in landfills or waterways.”
At CooperVision, a recycling initiative has also hit a milestone in its effort to offset some of the company’s use of plastics, according to a CooperVision press release.
CooperVision has now kept an amount of plastic equivalent to more than 500 million plastic bottles from entering the ocean through its net plastic neutrality initiative. The goal of the initiative, conducted in partnership with Plastic Bank, is to recycle an amount of ocean-bound plastic equivalent to the weight of plastic used in certain soft contact lenses and their packaging.
“While the achievement should be celebrated, it is not our end goal — we are always seeking ways to do more,” Aldo Zucaro, senior director, corporate responsibility, CooperCompanies, said in the release. “This journey is ongoing, and we are excited for what’s ahead.”
Another contact lens recycling program, called Acuvue LensCycle, is available through Johnson & Johnson.
Through this program, contact lens users can discard their lenses and blister packs into recyclable pouches and drop them off at a participating practice. Through a partnership with the recycling company Greenflow, a tree is donated to reforestation projects each time these items are recycled.
In a statement to Healio, Johnson & Johnson highlighted that manufacturing sites for Acuvue contact lenses draw all of their electricity from renewable sources. Paper packaging for the lenses comes from “responsibly managed forests helping combat deforestation,” and in 2023 the company removed plastic pouches from Acuvue delivery notices, which in the U.K. amounted to 2.7 tons of plastic annually, the company added.
Editor’s note: On April 22, 2025, this article was updated to add comments from Bausch + Lomb and Johnson & Johnson.
References:
- Bausch + Lomb reports more than 100 million units of contact lenses, lens care and eye care materials collected through ONE by ONE and Biotrue Eye Care Recycling programs. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250421299221/en/Bausch-Lomb-Reports-More-Than-100-Million-Units-of-Contacts-Lenses-Lens-Care-and-Eye-Care-Materials-Collected-Through-ONE-By-ONE-and-Biotrue-Eye-Care-Recycling-Programs. Published April 21, 2025. Accessed April 21, 2025.
- CooperVision’s plastic neutrality initiative reaches remarkable half-billion bottle milestone. https://coopervision.com/our-company/news-center/press-release/coopervisions-plastic-neutrality-initiative-reaches-remarkable-half-billion. Published April 17, 2025. Accessed April 21, 2025.
- Acuvue LensCycle. https://www.acuvue.com/en-ca/lenscycle/. Accessed April 21, 2025.
For more information:
Lyndon Jones, BSc, PhD, DSc, FCAHS, FCOptom, DipCLP, DipOrth, FAAO, FIACLE, FBCLA, can be reached at lwjones@uwaterloo.ca; X: @lwj_63.
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