Some customers will start to receive their medication in the new prescription bags from this month and by March 2020, the pharmacy chain aims to produce over 100 million prescription bags each year using compostable material.
The new bags, which are made of potato starch, can also be used as a bin liner for food waste.
Richard Bradley, Pharmacy Director at Boots UK, said, “At the start of this year, our customers told us they didn’t want to receive their medicines in plastic bags and we have been testing alternative materials for some time. So, we are thrilled that our new compostable bags allow us to continue to deliver medicines to patients in a way that is safe, clean and dry, whilst helping to reduce our reliance on conventional plastic.”
The latest step follows Boots’ switch to unbleached paper bags in all of its stores across the UK, removing over 900 tonnes of plastic each year and an endeavour to be 100 per cent plastic-free in online deliveries by the end of 2020.
Boots is also planning to reduce its plastic use by around 1,300 tonnes per year by removing 149 tonnes of plastic from the brand’s Christmas gift ranges and reducing the plastic packaging used in deliveries by 76 per cent.
REFS
Published on pharmacy.biz
Boots rolls out compostable pharmacy bags
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