UK Pharmacies Collect More than 20,000 Inhalers Through Recycling Program

East Kent, UK pharmacies have been a part of an inhaler recycling scheme since November 2023, and so far, they have collected more than 20,000 inhalers.

The recycling scheme, dubbed “Re-Hale” is a 12-month program that sees NHS Kent, Medway Integrated Card Board, and pharmaceutical manufacturer Chiesi collaboration to process inhalers. 78 locations are participating in the scheme and have collected roughly 20,400 inhalers for recycling.

The UK sees about 73 million inhalers prescribed annually, which accounts for 3% of NHS UK’s carbon emissions.

“It has been welcomed by both our staff and patients. It’s simple to implement and easy for our pharmacy teams to remind customers to return old or unwanted inhalers when collecting their new prescription. We hope the scheme can expand, to include our branches outside of Kent,” said Jo Pay, sustainability lead at Paydens Group.

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