Can You Recycle Contact Lenses?

Contact lenses are among the most popular medical devices in the ocular healthcare industry. In the UK, nearly 9% of all Brits who require vision correction use contact lens.

Since 2023, the most common types of contacts are daily disposables, followed by weekly and bi-weekly options. That said, while these contacts are typically more recommended given that they’re less likely to cause the user irritation, their limited shelf-life does equate to quite a bit of waste per consumer. As such, it’s important to know if recycling is a viable option to approach contact lens disposal better.

How recycling happens in the contact lens industry

First of all, when talking about the waste associated with contact lenses, it’s important to note that this refers not just to the lenses themselves but also to their packaging and any associated products. For starters, contact lenses vary in materials and wear patterns. On online retailer Vision Direct, you can see that some of the most trusted producers, like Bausch and Lomb, Visco Vision, and Alcon, offer lenses that cater to diverse refractive errors, but they’re all typically made with medical-grade plastic-type materials. For instance, Alcon Dailies are made with Delefilcon A. Because of this, contacts are not really biodegradable. They can, however, be recycled, but this is rarely done given the sensitive nature in which contacts are used and because their small size may make recycling impractical.

Many eye care parties offer more eco-friendly waste management solutions instead. To illustrate, Vision Direct has its own recycling scheme, wherein it supplies customers with a free Royal Mail label. The label can be used to send back contact lens waste to the retailer, who will then send it on to its partner specialist recycling company. This is similar to how many prescription eyeglasses are also recycled. As mentioned in our previous post, movements like ReSpectacle and OneSight also offer these mail-in recycling services.

Meanwhile, it’s easier to recycle the cardboard boxes or contact lens solutions bottles that most consumers of these medical devices also use. Since these are not used inside the person, they are not usually considered as medical waste, thereby making them easier for more recycling facilities to work with. Most of the time, they can even be sorted out with the rest of the household’s recyclable waste. Interestingly, some eyewear labels, like Genusee, even create sustainable eyewear products using many of these same recycled items.

Why we need to recycle contact lenses

While contact lens waste may seem negligible in comparison to the wider plastic pollution problem, it’s worth remembering that the average Brit already produces around 76 kilogrammes of plastic waste annually. This is twenty times higher than the rates recorded just 50 years ago. As mentioned earlier, contact lens users are more likely to opt for disposable options, so it’s safe to surmise that their yearly plastic pollution is even higher.

Of course, given the health benefits of contacts, it’s not always viable to stop using them. Instead, the more realistic and sustainable option is to learn how to use and dispose of them in a way that is also mindful of the environment. Currently, the UK is among the delegates committed to securing a global treaty to end plastic pollution. Specifically, the UK has pushed for more responsible monitoring and regulating of the entire plastic lifecycle, which includes waste management. For such efforts to really take root and bring forth positive ecological benefits, though, the drive to care more about waste should also be in regular citizens. With this type of accountability, even with daily medical essentials like contacts, eco-friendly initiatives can go even further.