Recycling Contact Lenses

As you know at Uvée, we aim for a positive impact on the environment in as many aspects as possible. Obviously, as an optometrist, the health of your eyes remains a priority. It is for this reason that we consider daily disposable contact lenses to be the best option for reducing the risk of complications such as infiltrative keratitis, infectious ulcers and conjunctivitis. On the other hand, one could believe that disposable daily lenses are more polluting than monthly replacement lenses but due to the containers and cleaning products resulting from the use of the contacts, there is no major difference between the two methods in terms of carbon footprint.

To recycle your lenses, it's very easy! Bring us your contact lenses and their honeycomb packaging to Uvée during our opening hours. We will put them in a box designated for this purpose. Make sure all liquids are removed. Note also that the cardboard boxes of the lenses are recyclable through your municipal recycling service. If it is not possible to bring us your worn contact lenses, it is better to throw them in the trash rather than in the sink or the toilet in order to avoid pollution in waterways by microparticles.

The TerraCycle company will then transform these materials into plastic granules and recycled aluminum. They can then be used for making small or large plastic objects. We can think of a park bench or flower pots.

Sources:

Contact Lens Spectrum - The Environment Impact of Contact Lens Waste

Routhier J, de Freitas M, Hickson-Curran S. Daily disposable versus reusable contact lenses: a close match when it comes to the impact on the environment. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2012 Dec 1;35(Suppl 1):e2.