Pharmacists will continue encouraging customers to use Pharmacycle collection boxes as successful partnership is extended
Blooms The Chemist and Pharmacycle are celebrating over three million medicinal blister packs diverted from landfill, thanks to their partnership.
In total, over 4,000 kgs of medicine packaging has been recycled since October 2022, when Blooms The Chemist rolled out in-store blister pack collection boxes across its entire network.
“Many Australians are unaware that blister packs, the packaging that pills and tablets come in, can’t be recycled through kerbside bins because they are made of various plastics and foils,” said Blooms The Chemist’s Environmental Impact Committee Lead, Kimberley Baldassarre.
“With the roll out of convenient, in-store collection boxes, combined with encouragement and education from our passionate Pharmacists, our customers have responded, and we have been overwhelmed by the uptake in recycling blister packs.”
Due to the success of the program, Blooms The Chemist and Pharmacycle have announced they will be continuing their partnership.
“It’s truly impressive what we have managed to achieve with the national support from Blooms The Chemist over the past year,” Pharmacycle’s Director, Afonso Firmo, said.
“For blister packs to be recycled, they first need to be collected in sufficient volume to warrant the use of specialised recycling technology, and we have certainly managed to collect this volume with the help of Blooms The Chemist. We are delighted that our partnership will continue.”
Blooms The Chemist is the only national pharmacy company in Australia to have launched this initiative across its entire network of more than 115 stores.
“We are proud to lead the way in what can be achieved for important environmental issues in the pharmacy industry. Our partnership with Pharmacycle allows us to reduce our waste to landfill and help our local communities to do the same. We look forward to maintaining the momentum as we head into year two of this vital work,” Kimberley said.
About Blooms The Chemist
Blooms The Chemist is a network of more than 115 pharmacies operating in NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, NT, TAS and WA, providing local communities with friendly expert advice and professional service. Operating for more than 40 years, Blooms The Chemist pharmacies are passionate about providing local communities with the highest level of care, delivered through genuine relationships, personalised advice, and a wide range of health services and quality products at the best possible price. The Blooms The Chemist team is proud to be a truly community-minded network of pharmacies, putting people first in everything we do.
About Pharmacycle
Pharmacycle is Australia’s only solution for recycling used and empty medicinal blister packs. Their make-up of materials such as plastic and aluminium makes them ineligible for kerbside recycling. Pharmacycle’s mission is to recycle every blister pack in Australia, and since its establishment in 2022, Pharmacycle has challenged the conventional approach to pharmaceutical waste management.
Partnering with the likes of hospitals and pharmacies, there are now over 230 public drop-off points across the country. Its efforts have already diverted over 12 million blister packs from landfills, which is equivalent to 150 cubic meters of waste.
