100 million blister packs recycled across Australia
Pharmacycle, the country’s only end-to-end blister pack recycling program, has now recycled more than 100 million blister packs since launching in 2022.
With more than 900 drop-off points at pharmacies, hospitals, and councils nationwide, the program is helping Australians turn everyday medicine packaging into something useful instead of sending it to landfill.
Pharmacycle tracks every pack from drop-off to reprocessing, ensuring transparency and giving every blister pack a valuable second life right here in Australia, while keeping resources within the local economy.
Recycling 100 million blister packs has recovered around 150 tonnes of valuable aluminium and plastics, all processed locally in Australia.
After collection, the blister packs are carefully separated into their component materials: plastic and aluminium. The recovered plastic is sent to Pharmacycle’s Australian manufacturing partner, Think Fencing Pty Ltd, where it is transformed into durable products like OneDeck fencing boards made entirely from recycled content.
The recovered aluminium is processed into deoxidant pucks, which are then used in the steel-making industry to help remove impurities during production. Learn more about what happens to the collected blister packs in the video below:
Furthermore, recycling is about to become much easier for older Australians. Aged care facilities produce large amounts of medication packaging, yet practical recycling options are often limited. To change this, Pharmacycle will be expanding into these facilities, making it more accessible for everyone to recycle.
To find your nearest drop-off point for blister packs, visit Recycling Near You.
ECO NETS " It doesn't stop until its stopped " New waste systems for festivals/ Stadiums, Airports , Railways. improving security, lowers fire risk and CO2. Reducing plastic pollution.
3wAnd how many binbags created to collect them . Nobody thinks about them as pollution, yet its a major contributor to climate change. Collecting all different recycling materials by creating more plastic is also a major issue around tge globe .