Bausch + Lomb Recycling Program Collects More Than Half a Million Pounds of Eye Care Materials

Bausch + Lomb Corporation has collected and recycled nearly 725,000 pounds of used contact lenses, eye care, and lens care materials in the United States—the equivalent of about five backyard swimming pools worth of water.^1,2

The company diverted the waste from landfills through its one-of-a-kind ONE by ONE Recycling program, created in collaboration with TerraCycle. Bausch + Lomb has collected and recycled 119,715,074 total units, or 724,922 pounds of eye care materials.

“Seeing this program continue to grow year after year reinforces how powerful collective action can be,” said Amy Butler, vice president, Global Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, Bausch + Lomb. “The ONE by ONE program makes it easy for eye care practices and patients to make a real, measurable difference, and this latest collection milestone demonstrates just how meaningful those small actions can be.”

Because of the small size and the types of plastics used, contact lenses, blister packs, multi-purpose solution caps, and other used eye health-related materials are not typically accepted at local municipal recycling facilities and may inadvertently end up in landfills or waterways. In the United States alone, between six and 10 metric tons of contact lenses are estimated to enter wastewater each year. The ONE by ONE Recycling program helps prevent these materials from seeping into the environment.

“The amount of single-use material that moves through an eye care practice adds up quickly,” said Kriti Bhagat, owner and founder of Eyediology Vision in Providence, R.I. “Being able to recycle many of these items through the ONE by ONE program has become an important part of how we run our practice—it demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and helps our patients build positive recycling habits around the eye health materials they use each day.”

For every qualifying shipment of 10 pounds or more from a registered ONE by ONE Recycling program practice, a $1 per pound donation is made to Optometry Giving Sight—a global initiative dedicated to preventing blindness and vision impairment.

In addition to the ONE by ONE Recycling program, Bausch + Lomb offers the Every Contact Counts program in Canada, which has collected and recycled more than 78,269 pounds (5,841,644 million units) of used contact lenses, blister packs and top foils since launching in 2019.

Bausch + Lomb is committed to implementing, maintaining, and enhancing sustainable business practices that support patients, customers, consumers, employees, and communities worldwide. Its impact initiatives are measured against several key environmental metrics called “FEWW”—fuel, energy, water, and waste. Each Bausch + Lomb facility has annualized goals against these metrics to harness new opportunities and evolve in a sustainable way.

The ONE by ONE Recycling program is Bausch + Lomb’s U.S. initiative that collects certain used contact lens, eye care, and lens care materials. Accepted items include used contact lenses, blister packs, top foils, contact lens cases, small contact lens solution bottles and caps, single-dose eye drop vials, Bausch + Lomb-branded eye drop bottles, and LUMIFY Preservative Free plastic trays and paperboard sleeves. Consumers can bring their used materials to participating eye care practices, which collect them in custom recycling bins provided by Bausch + Lomb. Once full, the bins are shipped to TerraCycle, where the materials are recycled and repurposed into new products.

The Every Contact Counts Recycling program is an exclusive initiative from Bausch + Lomb in Canada that collects used contact lenses, blister packs, and top foils from consumers, patients, and eye care professionals. By targeting these small, often overlooked items, the program helps ensure they are properly recycled and repurposed.

For nearly two centuries, Bausch + Lomb has evolved with the changing needs of patients and customers. From contact lenses to prescription products, over-the-counter options, surgical devices, and more, the company turns bold ideas into better outcomes through passion, perseverance, and purpose.

References
¹ Assumes 15,000–20,000 gallons per residential pool; one gallon of water ≈ 8.34 lbs.
² As of 4.6.2026; data from PowerBi Program Performance report.