Council launches blister pack recycling scheme

Waltham Forest residents can now recycle empty medicine blister packs at six pharmacies in the borough.

Blister packs refer to the complex packaging found that paracetamol or other tablets come in.

Previously, there was no provision to recycle these in the borough, due to the combination of plastic and foil making it a hard packaging product to recycle. They may also contain unused medication which needs to be returned to the pharmacy for disposal, making the legislation which sits behind their collection and recycling more specialised.

Now, in partnership with Terracycle, the Council has provided six pharmacies with blister pack recycling kits. The new initiative follows engagement with local independent pharmacies across the borough.

You can take your used blister packs to:

• Woodside Pharmacy, 851 High Road Leytonstone, E11 1HH
• Leyton Pharmacy, 98 Francis Road, Leyton, E10 6PP
• Lea Bridge Pharmacy, 881 Lea Bridge Road, E17 9DS
• Borno Pharmacy, 5 Signal Walk, Highams Park, E4 9BW
• Mount Pharmacy, 80 Chingford Mount Rd, E4 9AA

The Council continues to be in discussion with other pharmacies about expanding this scheme so more residents can recycle blister packs at a convenient place.

Cllr Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Air Quality at Waltham Forest Council, said, “After engaging with our local pharmacies, I am delighted to introduce blister pack recycling in Waltham Forest. This is a further example of Waltham Forest leading on recycling initiatives in London.

“In this day and age, we should be able to recycle common items like blister packs and pharmaceutical companies must do more to make their packaging more eco-friendly. But in the meantime, this new scheme will help our residents to recycle their blister packs locally and help contribute towards our ambition of being a zero-waste borough by 2030.

“Thank you to these six pharmacies for stepping forward and getting involved with this, and to the North London Waste Authority for the windfall dividend which helped to fund this initiative and get it off the ground. I hope more pharmacies will join the scheme.”

Moving forward, blister packs should be covered by the government’s ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ legislation, which should provide funding for Councils to collect and dispose of the packaging that industry, manufacturers and retailers create. We will keep you updated on any progress with this.