Bupa Optical & Hearing Director, Adrian Kemp with Bupa Managing Director of Health Services, Liz Curran.
Bupa Optical & Hearing stores have partnered with Opticycle to recycle frames, contact lenses and contact lens packages. The partnership will see the used products dropped off at Bupa Optical recycling bins and given a new life after being passed on to local Australian companies as raw materials for new products.
With more than 50% of Australians living with one or more long-term eye conditions,1 it is estimated that up to 500 million contact lens packages alone are sent to landfill in Australia each year.2
Bupa Managing Director of Health Services, Liz Curran said this recycling initiative is a great way for people to expand their sustainable mindset and give a new life to common optical products.
The partnership will see the used products dropped off at Bupa Optical recycling bins and given a new life after being passed on to local Australian companies as raw materials
“We know many Australians don’t know what to do with their old glasses and contact lenses which invariably end up in landfill which is problematic for the environment when you consider that many contact lenses take 500 years to decompose.3
“That’s why we want to see as many of our customers and people from the local community drop by with their old products to help us support healthy vision and a healthy planet,” said Ms Curran.
People can drop off their frames, contact lenses and contact lens packages at Bupa Optical & Hearing’s 49 stores around Australia during regular opening hours without the need to make an appointment or be an existing customer. By doing so they can contribute to the over 41,000kg of materials and 210m3 of landfill space which Opticycle estimates to have saved to date.4
Ms Curran said the initiative is part of a broader ambition for Bupa to become a net-zero business by 2040. The company recently launched, in partnership with Health Care Without Harm, a global report outlining key principles for reducing reliance on single-use items in healthcare, while ensuring the highest levels of patient care are maintained.
References
1. Eye health. Available at aihw.gov.au/reports-data/health-conditions-disability-deaths/eye-health/overview [accessed February 2025]
2. Quirk, K. Exploring sustainable disposal solutions for contact lenses and glasses frames. Available at goodvisionforlife.com.au/2024/04/16/exploring-sustainable-disposal-solutions-for-contact-lenses-and-glasses-frames [accessed February 2025]
3. The Environmental impact of contact lenses and glasses. Betterview. Available at: betterview.co.uk/the-environmental-impact-of-contact-lenses-and-glasses [accessed February 2025]
4. Seeing the world in a sustainable way. Available at opticycle.com.au [accessed February 2025]
