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Supermarket chain Tesco and high street pharmacy Boots have both extended schemes where customers can return plastic medication packaging to stores for recycling.
Boots announced on 11 February 2025 that its scheme, which invites customers to return all medicine and vitamin blister packaging to in-store recycling boxes, had been expanded to more than 800 stores across the UK. Every time a customer returns five packs for recycling, they will earn points on their Boots Advantage reward card.
The scheme was first launched in February 2024 in 100 stores across London and the South East.
The Pharmaceutical Journal has also learned that supermarket chain Tesco has expanded its own recycling initiative, which runs in partnership with medicines brand Calpol, owned by Kenvue.
The scheme, which was launched across 10 Tesco Extra stores in August 2023, will now operate in 12 stores. It invites customers to return plastic medicine syringes, blister packs and spoons from Kenvue-owned brands, such as Calpol, Benadryl, Imodium and Benylin.
The recycled items returned via both schemes are then collected and processed by waste management company MyGroup, which converts the material into a composite similar to plywood, used for furniture in community settings, such as chairs and desks for schools.
A spokesperson for MyGroup told The Pharmaceutical Journal that 29 boxes of plastic packaging was returned through Tesco’s recycling scheme in 2024, totalling 189kg; while 10 boxes totalling 62kg had been returned so far in 2025, as of 5 February 2025.
In a statement published on 11 February 2025, MyGroup said it had processed more than seven tonnes of blister packs since the Boots scheme launched in 2024.
Steve Carrie, a director of MYGroup, commented: “Partnering with leading brands and retailers such as Calpol and Tesco on take-back recycling schemes is central to MYGroup’s mission to change the conversation about hard-to-recycle or so-called ‘unrecyclable’ single-use waste items.
“With the right infrastructure and processes, this material can be captured, recovered and repurposed effectively.”
Candice Smith, head of environmental, social and governance at Boots UK, said: “We know from our pilot scheme that people want a recycling solution for their empty blister packs, which is why we’re now making it available in towns and cities across the country.
“We look forward to seeing the recycled materials take on a new life as playground equipment and furniture.”
