Successful Kettering blister pack recycling pilot scheme ends after cost to taxpayers spiral

Kettering Town Council (KTC) had teamed-up with Mill Road Pharmacy to trial a recycling scheme for medical blister packs – plastic and foil packaging – used for tablets.

But the popularity of the trial has resulted in so many packs being returned for recycling, KTC has had to pull the plug on the scheme.

A spokesman for Kettering Town Council said: “The town council decided to experiment with a pilot scheme to see if there was a demand for blister pack recycling, and worked with Mill Road Pharmacy who kindly agreed to host the scheme.

"The scheme involved purchasing boxes from a specialist recycling company who are able to separate out the materials in a blister pack. We started the scheme in late July and by early September, had collected approximately 20,000 blister packs, which was far in excess of what we were expecting and unfortunately meant that we could not afford to keep it going.

"The scheme cost just over £500 in charges and would therefore have cost about £5,000 over a full year, which was greater than our entire budget for sustainable interventions.

"We would like to thank everyone who donated blister packs – the recyclate value of the packs collected is equal to 240 new plastic bottles not being made or 10 kg of coal not being used.

"This experience is one we have shared with the NHS locally and, through the MP, with the government. Hopefully, it will demonstrate the need to develop a national scheme for blister pack recycling in the future.”

All Saints Church’s community in Kettering had jumped at the chance to save their packs from landfill, quickly collecting several black bin bags full for recycling, but their most recent haul will now go to waste.

The church was recently awarded Gold Eco Church status, a prestigious conservation award for its environmental work.

Church warden Angela Brett said: “People were so pleased and they accumulated really quickly. We wanted to recycle as much as possible.”