Medibank and Pharmacycle make it easier to recycle medicine blister packs

This National Recycling Week, Medibank is partnering with Pharmacycle to help Australians give their empty medicine blister packs a second life.

Empty medicine blister packs are made from a combination of plastic and aluminium, meaning they can’t be recycled through household kerbside recycling. Through Pharmacycle, the materials can instead be separated and recycled into new products. 

Medibank has partnered with Pharmacycle to introduce blister pack collection points across its corporate offices and 30 Better Medical and Myhealth clinics, with plans to make recycling even more accessible across the Medibank network.

In the coming weeks customers will be able to drop off their empty medicine blister packs for recycling. The initial 30 clinics across Myhealth and Better Medical have been selected based on their suitability to safely accommodate customer collection points, with opportunities for further expansion to be considered. 

Medibank Group’s Andrew Retsckho said the partnership was about making sustainable choices easier for customers and the community.

“Most of us have empty medicine blister packs at home, but many people don’t realise they can’t go into household recycling. By partnering with Pharmacycle, we’re making it easier for people to keep these materials out of landfill simply by bringing their empty packs with them when they visit participating Medibank Corporate offices, Myhealth and Better Medical locations,” Mr Retsckho said.

Pharmacyle General Manager Michael Klapsogiannis said:  

We’re delighted to partner with Medibank to make blister pack recycling more accessible to Australians. These packs are challenging to recycle through conventional systems, but through specialised processing we can separate the plastic and aluminium and ensure those valuable materials are recovered and put to further use.

Pharmacycle launched in Australia in 2022 and has recycled 86 million blister packs over the last financial year through its national network, recovering around 129 tonnes of aluminium and plastic.