Bausch + Lomb recycling programs recover 76 million eye care materials

Vaughan, Ont.-based eye health products company Bausch + Lomb says it has recycled 76,645,000 units – equaling 464,100 pounds – of plastic eye care materials in the U.S. through its ONE by ONE and Biotrue Eye Care recycling programs.

Eye care materials include used contact lenses, contact lens blister packs, lens cases, contact lens solution bottle caps, empty eye drop bottles, and more.

According to Bausch + Lomb officials, contact lenses, eye care and lens care materials aren’t typically processed in standard recycling facilities due to the small size and the type of plastic used to manufacture them. As a result, they can end up in landfills or waterways – in the U.S., it’s estimated that six to 10 metric tons of contact lenses end up in wastewater each year.

The ONE by ONE recycling program has collected more than 76 million used contact lenses, blister packs and top foils since the program’s launch in November 2016, the company said; and the Biotrue Eye Care recycling program, which launched in April 2021, has collected more than 645,000 eye drop single dose units, lens cases, lens solution caps as well as all Biotrue-branded eye drops bottles.

In addition to the U.S., Bausch + Lomb has a similar contact lens recycling program in Canada called Every Contact Counts.