Daily contact lenses - eco disaster and other forgotten things …

[Lightisnotwhite]

I wear hard, gas permeable lenses. They last for years or until I lose one or decide I can’t see properly. Opticians are always trying to flog me daily ones.These are disposable ones that come in little plastic tubs. So that’s 2 a day plus the lenses being chucked out.

The traditional Poppies have plastic stalks and middies. Goodness knows how many we get through. I support the cause with cash but use a knitted one.

So many little things need updating to be eco friendly.

My monthlies still require me to buy a bottle of cleaning solution each month, which comes with a plastic case.

There's so much plastic tat being sold to miss I can't bring myself to worry about contact lenses use, which is a necessity.
All the light up stuff sold at fireworks displays and pantos for example.

.. And don't get me started on the amount of plastic in twice weekly lateral flow tests.

One of my children is diabetic - the sheer amount of plastic that creates in a week is crazy!
But I refuse to feel guilty about keeping my child alive when there are people like Mrs Hinch and all her followers buying tat for no reason and swishing bleach around like nobodies business!
Your contact lenses are less than a drop in the ocean OP

Thanks for the link. But no address list, just a map? My local one looks like a residential street, definitely no shops there. I'll contact Terracycle. Good to know I can now deal with the mountain of cat food pouches😻

Specsavers also recycle contact lenses and packaging.

For anyone with more than a mild prescription, contact lenses are loads cheaper than glasses. Especially gas permeable.

Yes you still have a pair of glasses as a spare, but as you don't wear them much you don't need to replace them as often or have the lenses ultra thin for comfort.

For me glasses are virtually unwearable without very expensive lens thinning, they are much too heavy. The correction isn't as good as contacts either.

There's so much plastic tat being sold to miss I can't bring myself to worry about contact lenses use, which is a necessity.

But I refuse to feel guilty about keeping my child alive when there are people like Mrs Hinch and all her followers buying tat for no reason and swishing bleach around like nobodies business!

Yes, all of this! When we spend our consumer energy on faffing with contact lenses and necessities for health and physical well-being, we have no energy for the big stuff, for activism and lobbying, for finding ways to save energy on heat and transport, for managing food waste and food miles – all that big-impact jazz

Watch it with the gas perméables, I too wore them for decades - and caused damage to my eyes. They aren't apparently intended for very long term daily extended use.

@SouthOfFrance

EastWest what's the difference between wearing them twice (or more) and cleaning them in between and doing the same with the monthly ones? Literally the only difference between the two is how thick they are, dailies are just thinner that's all.

When you clean monthly lenses you clean them with a cleaning product. Saline won’t clean them. It’s like washing your hands with just water and using soap.

Thanks, that's great, I've been collecting dental products for recycling too www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/colgate-uk

& great name @IdrisElbow

@UnfinishedBunting

I didn't click with my mooncup at all. I'm never using it again.

I got a utility from mine and never used it again

UTI not utility

Pet food pouches can be rinsed and recycled with soft plastics at supermarkets (Tesco for us)

Fab, Thanks for the info on pet food pouch recycling.
Ideally the cats would sort it out themselves but I will just add this to my slave duties for them!!

@Kotatsu

I hit the happy medium of continuous wear contacts - I've been using them for about 15 years, and no issues at all (and as soon as an optician hears that's what I use, they give me the works - dyed eyeballs the lot, so I know my eyes are fine).

I put them in, and leave them in (so no contamination issues) for 3 weeks (I can tell when it's time to change them).

It's infection more; microbes exist in the tear layer and they can potentially grow at night under the warmth of the lens when the blink rate reduces and then don't get flushed away, or if your cornea swells and you can't flush them away. The infection rate is much higher.....but I still don't recommend against them if the lens is very mobile when you blink and you don't have any underlying conditions.

OP - GP's are really good for certain eye conditions/high RX/myopia control, but they're not going to be tolerated by a lot of the general low myopes.

Ive switched to vaginal oestrogen cream in a metal tube instead of single use plastic pessary applicators

@FuckyNel

Ive switched to vaginal oestrogen cream in a metal tube instead of single use plastic pessary applicators

Which brand are you using?

@Newhorizon21

Ovestin - hope it works as well

I can’t use anything but dailies OP. I realise it’s bad and I hate using them but my optician won’t let me. I had a minor injury to my eye years back using monthlies (my fault I was careless) and am only allowed dailies now because of this. It’s in my record I think as every new optician brings it up I wish there was a good recycling system for them.

Terracycle have stopped their cat food pouches programme, but the Co-op takes them in their soft plastics collection.

I have very dry sensitive eyes and astigmatism, so dailies it is for me. I only wear lenses maybe 3 days a week though and recycle the packaging. But it’s something I’m not going to feel guilty about because it’s a necessity for health, same as lateral flows that generate huge plastic waste, or using tampons.

Fountain pens with bottles of ink. Retro, cool and no plastic.

@PompomDahlia

I have very dry sensitive eyes and astigmatism, so dailies it is for me. I only wear lenses maybe 3 days a week though and recycle the packaging. But it’s something I’m not going to feel guilty about because it’s a necessity for health, same as lateral flows that generate huge plastic waste, or using tampons.

Yes lateral flows, the capsules my medication comes in. Sometimes I guess it’s necessary.

@NomDePrune when I was a student, I wore my daily disposables until they fell apart. Sometimes for weeks!