If you want to know if you can recycle your asthma inhaler, then the simple answer to is yes thanks to the Complete the Cycle scheme.
Available in many local pharmacies and GP surgeries, Complete the Cycle is the first national recycling and recovery scheme for respiratory inhalers. With over 73 million respiratory inhalers being prescribed every year in the UK, Glaxo Smithkline and decided that they needed to set up a solution to the potential environmental impact of disposing of inhalers.
Since it was set up in 2011, over 1.2 million asthma inhalers have been recycled and recovered. This has saved carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to taking 5,199 cars off UK roads.
What Happens to the Asthma Inhalers?
The aluminium is remade into other products, such as car parts of components for air conditioning units. The original inhaler will almost certainly have been made from recycled aluminium, but it cannot be reused again for inhalers for safety reasons.
Here’s a video which tells you a bit more!
Where Can I Recycle My Asthma Inhaler
To find a participating pharmacy or GP surgery near you, simply click this link. If your usual pharmacy does not participate in this scheme, there is bound to be one nearby.
Please note that ALL UK pharmacies should take your asthma inhalers and other medications from you under an NHS medication disposal scheme, but obviously this service comes out of the NHS budget! At least with the GSK scheme, it is privately funded!
Which Inhalers Can Be Recycled?
Complete the Cycle covers all brands of inhalers. For a complete product list, click on this complete-the-cycle-product-list
