Specsavers in Southport and Formby are offering customers the chance to recycle their glasses and contact lenses in-store for free.

The new initiative comes after the high-street opticians teamed up with recycling experts MYgroup to install recycling collection boxes at Specsavers stores up and down the country.

Customers at Specsavers Southport will be able to drop off both metal and plastic glasses and sunglasses, as well as contacts lenses and accessories, including blister packs, contact lens cases and solution bottles.

Once the collections bins are full, the items will be shipped off to MYgroup recycling plant.

The glasses and contact lenses will be given a second lease of life and repurposed into a wide range of items such as furniture, home and garden accessories, including benches and play park equipment.

It can also be used in the building trade as a great alternative to plywood. Unlike some recycled items, the recycled board created by MYgroup has the potential to be recycled over and over again, so any items dropped off for recycling can be repurposed multiple times.

This is just one of many steps taken by Specsavers to try and protect the planet and achieve its goal of becoming climate positive – removing more CO2 from the environment than the company generates - by 2035.

Samantha Burns, Director at Specsavers Southport, says:

‘At Specsavers we are striving to improve what we do to protect the planet so we are pleased to be offering customers the chance to recycle a range of eyewear products.

‘We know from customer feedback that people want to be able to recycle eyecare products, so we are really pleased to be able to meet our customers needs in this important way.

‘Sustainability is at the core of our plan for the future and by offering this service we’re making it easier than ever for customers to play their part.’

What can I recycle at my local Specsavers?

• Glasses
• Sunglasses
• Contact lenses
• Contact lens plastic packaging (solution bottles, blister packs, cases and tweezers)

What cannot currently be recycled at my local Specsavers?

• Glasses cases - unfortunately these are made of lots of component parts and are not practical to recycle at the moment.
• Lens cloths

Michael Derbyshire, business development manager at MyGroup, said:

‘MyGroup are delighted to be working with Specsavers and helping provide an instore recycling solution for their difficult to recycle waste.

‘Using our expertise, knowledge and innovative recycling systems this initiative will allow Specsavers’ valued customers to recycle material that would have previously been destined for landfill or incineration by turning them into a range of useful products.

‘Partnering with Specsavers validates the hard work we’ve been doing over the years and we can’t wait to get started.’