Has anyone used the Boots recycling scheme?

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

If so can I recycle tablet packets? The white plastic ones with foil on the back that the tablet is pushed through?

I can’t find them on the list but am sure they were on the poster that I saw in store.

I don’t visit a branch often so don’t want to start collecting them if they’re not part of the scheme.

Yes, with caveats.

The scheme for getting extra Advantage points for recycling is over-complicated and not really worth it, in my opinion. If you buy a lot in Boots and can break it down into small, regular purchases, it may well be worthwhile.

You have to download the app, and then photograph your blister pack or beauty product, toothpaste tube etc and they get accepted or rejected.

Then you have to find a Boots branch that accepts the recycled items. Some accept both blister packs and beauty items, some accept one or the other, more than 50% accept neither. You have to look on the app (under Account>Help) to find which branches accept what.

Then you haul your bag of recycling to the branch and hunt round and round (and round and round) the store to try to find the deposit bin. You ask staff, they look at you blankly and say they've never heard of it. Or you do find the bin, and especially in the case of blister packs, it's full and overflowing onto the floor.

You deposit your items, in groups of 5 or 10 (check the app), and claim your extra points voucher, which you can only use for 30 seconds between 4.57pm and 5.00pm on a Thursday if there's an R in the month. And only in certain stores, on certain products.

If I happen to be going to a store than accepts the recycling, I tend to dump it all in and not bother with the points. I suspect it all goes in the general rubbish anyway #cynical.

Ah, that kind of explains why I’m finding the online instructions so confusing!

Our nearest branch does accept both but I don’t go there very often.

I was going to give it a go as both of us are on regular medication now so we have more of this type of waste going in the black bin.

Toothpaste tubes and contact lens cases ought to be easy, but I’m not sure about the photographing as they all look the same! I think I need to write numbers on them all but it seems a bit of a faff!

I recycle my tablet packets and don't find it too much faff, but I think that's because I know my local store does it. You take photos of the empty packets as you collect them, then they get approved in the app. I haven't had any issues with mine looking similar. Then you take them to Boots in groups of 5, select which ones you're recycling in the app, and there's a QR code on the recycling box to scan as well.

Then you get a voucher but you need to spend £5 in Boots on the same day to be able to use it. And you have to activate the voucher before you can use it, but once activated you only have 5 minutes to scan it at a till. So this might be an issue if there's no data signal in store.

A Boots store I visit semi-regularly has one. I just dump the blister packs in there too in the hope they get recycled and don’t worry about any sort of reward!

Thanks @DuckWithOneWing

I’ve never checked mobile reception in store! That could be another hurdle. I wonder why they’ve put that time limit on?!

Do you photograph them all separately? I’ve got a few I can start with and upload.

If it’s too tricky I will be doing that too, but as our household finances are tight at the moment, if I can get a few regular products subsidised by this scheme it would be helpful.

I recycle my insulin through the pencycle sceme. They send a box and i was supposed to be able yo take back to boots. They refused it in 2 branches of boots even though they mention it on website.

It isn’t the simplest system, but I used it to save up for a lipstick I couldn’t justify paying actual money for. Once you’ve done it once, it’s fairly straightforward.

There’s a toggle on the top right hand side of the Home Screen to go between Beauty and Blister packs, they count as separate as the rewards are different.

Once in store jump on their WiFi, you have to scan the QR code on the front of the deposit box you’re using the select the items you are recycling.

It isn’t that difficult when you get used to it, and you know your regular stores, I use the one on the way to work, or one next to the supermarket I use.

when I have an empty I photograph it on the app it, if it’s small items like interdental brushes I do it in groups of five, I don’t write on them. When I have 5 beauty items and 5 blister packs, I go to boots.

The boots free WiFi is quick and easy to join so I go in the WiFi when I get in the store. I then put the items in the container which although are sometimes quite full, if they won’t go in I would leave them in the sandwich bag I take them in next to it on the floor.

then pick up the items I want to buy (I always wait until I have empties) and go to the till, scan the coupons and get the points. It works out as 600 points per time. They soon add up and in 10 visits you would have £60 to spend in store. I just got a new perfume.

I’ve got £285 worth of advantage card points because of the recycling scheme. My local one does it and I regularly shop there (I blame the baby!) so I’m never doing it for the sake of it.

Soon as I have something to recycle, I add it to the app and keep it in my car in my bag. Then whenever I need to go to boots, I have everything uploaded and to hand to deposit. I agree it’s slightly over complicated, but it’s been worth it. I’d buy nappies and wipes regardless so may as well make a deposit!

I just put loads of blister packs in the Boots recycling box. I mean loads!

I dont even think about points or the app etc. I’m doing it for ( hopefully) environmental reasons.

Just to say, they have no way of knowing what you actually deposit on which day, instead of carrying the stuff round with you until you’re ready to buy, upload everything to the app, once it’s been accepted go and drop everything off without marking it as deposited so they’re still showing in your app, then anytime you’re in store and you want to buy then just mark them as deposited and claim your reward.

I’ve been using the Boots recycling scheme for 2 years now. Once you’ve downloaded the app and taken photos of your items you have to wait for them to be approved, but after that it’s easy once you’re used to it.
i tend to only take photos of up to 10 tablet blister packs, the rest I just save up and deposit with the 10 to get the points. I always have more empty products ready to take in, I keep all my Boots recycling in a carrier bag in the boot of my car - that way I can nip to Boots without having to think about taking them. You can only deposit 4 times a month to get the points. I’ve earned more than £200 worth of Advantage card points, I stock up on basics that are on offer to make sure I spend the minimum of £10 to redeem the recycling points - things like cotton wool pads, mouthwash, vitamins etc. I also make sure I use any extra points added on my Boots app for buying certain products. I then save all my points to buy my Liz Earle skincare products.

I use it and find it straightforward, if a little faffy. I wait until I know I need to spend £10 then take my items in.

I have tried, without success, and have deleted the app.

I take a lot of tablets and was happy to save the empty blister packs until I next went into the city centre, which is usually only a few times a year (my closest branch is 9 miles away and doesn’t accept blister packs).

So, download the app. Photograph every blister pack, go through the tick boxes - prescription or not, brand, type of product. First time I had 40 packs. Second time only 10 packs. Third, and final time, only 5 packs.

I get to the store and have been logged out of the app. Try to connect to Boots customer wi fi. Wi fi open but it says no internet connection. Go upstairs, try again. Seems to be connected. Try to log in to the app, password rejected. Finally log in, return downstairs to the bin to deposit them. Every pack that I’ve listed is to be ticked individually as it’s posted. I grumble a lot, then see internet connection lost. I’ve already wasted about an hour listing the sodding things, so stuff them all in the recycling bin and leave. This has happen d on each attempt, although obviously less time spent listing the smaller numbers, but however good the Boots Advantage points are, that’s a chunk of time I won’t get back and I won’t bother again.

Off topic but also frustrating is that I got TopCashBack points for several small click and collect orders last year, then did a much bigger order and the TCB points were rejected.

Ooo thanks all, I have a massive heaving carrier bag full of empty blister packs that I need to recycle. Clearly it is also my route to riches 😀

I use the Boots recycling scheme for both blister packs and toiletries. I have made nearly £140 in points in less than a year.

Yes, it is fiddly at first but you soon get used to it. But it is only really worth it if you would spend money in Boots anyway, which I do. I have 2 teens and often pop into my local Boots when I’m in town.

I used lots of my points for Xmas presents/stocking fillers. Im
now saving up my points to spend on nice sun lotions and the No7 future renew serum I like.

Same. As a regular user, I've got in a good routine now where I photo and log items as I finish them and then just take them into Boots when I need something. I do both beauty and blister packs and so recycle according to whether I need to spend over £5 or £10. It really helps that I work in town centre near a Boots and so it's easy for me to do small frequent shops which does maximise the points return. I'm fairly canny at using extra points offers as well.
My top tip is when you take your recyclables in store, choose your shopping first, then drop the items and get your voucher, then head straight to checkout. Otherwise you'll be doing a mad dash round the store before the voucher expires.

Oh and just to add… my DD and I shared Boots and Nivea beauty advent calendars. Lots of little travel sized products to try and then recycle, earning £1 in points for each little tube etc.

So I just tried to upload photos of a few bits and have had my daily contact lens cases refused as it’s the wrong scheme. I’m at a loss what is the correct scheme for these? Has anyone managed to do this?

Contact lens cases are 'beauty', as is everything except tablet blister packs.

It's a terrible scheme - they couldn't have made it more complicated if they'd tried.

That’s what I thought and and what I did @ProfessorBinturong

Perhaps I’ll try again. My toothpaste tube was accepted though!

The photos really don't matter too much though - they don't check each item in the bin against what's been logged on the app. Just photograph any 5 items and deposit any 5 items (I try to keep to approx the same category, but really they don't care if a plastic tube held No7 serum or Nip+Fab moisturiser, or whether a toothbrush is Oral B or Sensodyne).