6 Oct 2023
Pet owners and the wider public are being encouraged to recycle the materials used to package tablets and pills at the group’s 21 practices to prevent them being landfilled or incinerated.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Very few local authorities or waste companies can recycle blister packs.
A veterinary group with practices across northern England and the Midlands has launched a new recycling scheme for packaging used in both pet and human medicines.
White Cross Vets hopes its link with the Yorkshire-based waste company MYGroup will enable thousands of medicine blister packs to be reused each year.
The group, which is part of IVC Evidensia, is also encouraging clients and the wider public to dispose of their empty packs in dedicated collection areas within its 21 practices.
Tom Ward, clinic director at the group’s practice in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, said initial feedback had been “very positive” and the volume of packets recycled weekly is growing.
He said: “Very few local authorities or waste companies can recycle blister packs, meaning they usually end up in landfill or incineration.
“As a practice we use thousands of blister packs every year and we’re conscious that we need to look after our environment, so when we discovered there is now a ground-breaking recycling solution through MYGroup, it was obvious we needed to get involved.
“We’re also pleased to be able to make it available to local people in the surrounding area who can collect the blister packs they use at home and drop them off with us for recycling, regardless of whether or not they’re a client or even a pet owner.”
The launch of the White Cross scheme follows a similar scheme involving GP surgeries and pharmacies in the York area, launched earlier this year, which it is claimed has already generated more than 185,000 waste packs.
The collected packs are taken to a processing facility in Hull, where the materials are separated and remanufactured into new products.
Steve Carrie, from MYGroup, said: “It’s exciting to be working with White Cross Vets on this initiative and to be supporting them in making such a positive change to reduce the practice’s carbon footprint.”
