Most of the plastic in your medicine cabinet is high-grade, medical-grade — and extremely difficult to dispose of safely, let alone recycle.
Sorting equipment at standard recycling centers usually cannot handle small items and their wishful inclusion simply prolongs the sorting process which then increases recyclers’ costs without saving the plastic. Some home medical products, such as needles that have come into contact with bodily fluids, should not even be placed in the household trash.
Governments and large drugstore chains offer some guidelines. For example, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has a map of collection boxes for safe drug disposal, and Walgreens and CVS Health have safe drug drop-off kiosks at select locations. They also sell special containers for sending used, discarded needles and medical waste to places for safe disposal.
But when it comes to recycling plastic devices, from asthma inhalers to insulin and allergy pens, people can find themselves ping-ponging with no solution. Some states recommend asking your local pharmacies, which in turn recommend checking with municipal recycling facilities.
“What we really need is an evolving, specialist recycling infrastructure alongside the big five – paper, glass, plastic, metal and cardboard,” said Mitch Ratcliffe, publisher of the Earth911 website. “This conversation is really picking up steam in some specific categories, but not at all in medical equipment.”
Some designers and companies are exploring alternatives that are more reusable or safer for the environment.
Inhalers
The inhalers that many people use to treat asthma or other respiratory conditions contain potentially recyclable materials. But those with drug or propellant residues can also be dangerous if incinerated or compressed.
Steel or aluminum containers containing the medicine should generally be returned to a pharmacy that accepts medical waste. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America also recommends contacting your local health department because they sometimes have opt-out options.
Metered dose inhalers also use hydrofluorocarbon propellants, which are a potent greenhouse gas. The roughly 144 million metered-dose inhalers used by Americans in 2020 released emissions equivalent to six months of driving from one million cars. When medically indicated, inhalers equipped with dry powder or soft mist are considered greener devices.
Insulin pens and syringes
Insulin pens and auto-injectors for allergy treatment typically incorporate multiple types of plastic into their design, and unless you take them apart, you can’t recycle them without mixing the materials together into a lower-quality product.
To dispose of needles used for allergy applications or for blood glucose monitoring, the Food and Drug Administration recommends using approved disposal containers. Opaque, non-punctured plastic from an empty laundry detergent or fabric softener bottle can serve as a substitute. Some people use needle cutters to remove the metal end of their needles before disposal so they can put the remaining plastic in the trash.
Information about local drop-off programs can be found on the websites of organizations such as Needy Meds and the Pharmaceutical Products Task Force. Private waste disposal companies such as Republic Services also offer mail order programs for a fee.
Prescription pill bottles
Every year, Americans fill billions of prescriptions that often come in translucent orange containers made of polypropylene, a recyclable plastic labeled No. 5. But most municipal recycling programs don’t accept them because they’re so small they fall into machines. And the vibrant color of the bottles precludes them from being mixed with other plastics to produce a pure recycled product.
The international humanitarian and disaster relief organization Matthew 25: Ministries is inviting people to donate empty bottles, without identification, for reuse.
Covid test
As of 2020, home diagnostic tests for Covid have become commonplace. It’s tempting to try to recycle the plastic they contain. But the samples in the used tests can be a carrier of contamination, so they must go in the trash.
Some are trying to redesign the tests to be more environmentally friendly. A London-based industrial design firm has proposed a biodegradable option, and a lab at the University of Pennsylvania has led to the development of a test made from an organic compound, bacterial cellulose – but both remain prototypes.
And Cabinet Health, a certified B-Corp, eliminates single-use plastics by providing medications in refillable glass bottles and refills in compostable pouches.
Other items
Some companies offer collection and recycling services for certain types of household medical waste that municipal programs will not accept. TerraCycle offers mail and delivery services for plastic items such as eyewear, such as old glasses and contact lens cases or blister packs, and oral care packaging, such as toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste. The company then sorts and recycles the material and works with manufacturers to turn it into new products. ,
