I am so very annoyed with Boots right now. Have you seen this?
Initially it sounded good "Boots are going to recycle blister packs" said Bob "and our two nearest stores are collection points" Then we looked into it further...
IT IS "GREENWASHING", PRETENDING TO BE ECO FRIENDLY FOR APPEARANCE SAKE.
They say it is simple, but it isn't really. You need to have the app and scan all your blister packs. Once they are approved, you take them to the store. 15 packs will earn you 150 bonus points - but you only get them if you spend £10 within three days of donation.
If I've understood it correctly, donating 20 packs will still only get you 150 points [I may be wrong there]
Bob and I, between us, have a lot of daily meds
BUT a high proportion of these friends do not have smart phones or use apps. [Or bother with loyalty cards] So they can't use the scheme. Younger friends who perhaps only have 1 tablet a day will take months to accumulate 15 empty packs.
Furthermore the reward scheme mostly benefits Boots! They are in effect saying "you need to spend even more with us to get points off your subsequent spending"
I'm not fussed about reward points, I just want to recycle for the benefit of the planet. This is far too complicated for me to bother with. And I suspect Boots know this, The management of a scheme like this will be complicated and costly for them to implement. So a few months down the line, I suspect it will be cancelled, and they will tell us that they did offer this environmentally friendly option, but customers didn't take it up.
We are fortunate to have Tony at our church. He takes all our packs to a charity [I have forgotten which] who then sell them on to TerraCycle. So we will continue to do that.
I think most people who want to recycle want the simple Superdrug system [or a mate like Tony] saying "Leave your packs here, and we will ensure they get properly recycled" without apps and offers. An easy way to have a positive impact.
Come on Boots, surely you can do better than this!
Now I'm wondering what will happen if I take my bag of empty packs into Dereham Boots and try and sneak them into the box without using the app...
Wholeheartedly with you, Ang. I'm happy to recycle especially when it's as easy as just dropping stuff in a dedicated bin when I go shopping. I have rather a lot of blister packs every month, I'm afraid. Please report back on your experiment in using the bin in Dereham!
ReplyDeleteJust popped them in the box. Nobody spoke to me , but then the store seemed devoid of many assistants anyway...
DeleteGlad you managed that. We had one extra champagne glass, generic looking. I reverse stole it by sneaking it from my handbag onto a shelf with other identical ones rather than driving behind the store and donating such a small item! JanF
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ReplyDeleteIf I need to recycle glass I have to catch a bus to a supermarket a few miles away. As I can't see well enough to use the bus service I'm afraid my glass goes in the rubbish bin.
ReplyDeleteWe are now able to add glass to our recycling bin. Of you cannot do that and have no transport, that does make it harder
DeleteHadn't heard of this - it sounds as you say - a publicity gimmick. Boots is one of those shops I rarely use -they are expensive compared to Superdrug.
ReplyDeleteI agree
DeleteAngela, I do just that. Take the blister packs and drop them in the box. So far I haven’t had an issues
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteTo clarify- you CAN recycle (and in smaller quantities) without the app- it’s just that after their initial trial boots found most customers don’t bother unless there’s something in it for them. And yes, they do want to also encourage you to stay and spend in store, but don’t underestimate the cost of implementing the scheme, and the fact that they need to encourage shoppers back in rather than losing out to low cost online retailers/amazon!
ReplyDeleteThank you Steph. It's helpful to read about their trials. I get the point about encouraging customers back into the store too.Always good to hear from a professional like you who understands how such schemes are planned and implemented!
DeleteI was confused by this as well Angela so I asked in store and you can just put empty packs in without using the app, you won’t get the points of course, but the way it’s printed on the receptacle is misleading. I don’t have a boots card or use any apps but will be shoving my bag of used packs in the box. I do agree with you though, the biggest users of meds are older so please make it easy for us. Sandra.
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DeleteI looked at their scheme too and found it terribly complicated. Luckily, our Superdrug does this scheme too as does the Refill shop in Chelmsford (they ask you to please make a purchase as it costs them to send them off and they are a small biz). We have a box at church to collect for Super drug and then someone collects and takes them in one go.
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DeleteMy husband’s empty blister packs go in our normal mixed recycling bin (West Sussex County Council). Worth checking what you can include in your recycling bin as the categories do change as the sorting becomes more (robotically) sophisticated. The Boots scheme sounds ridiculous. I signed up for future health and I was asked to go to the Big Boots in Chichester for various tests. But this Big Boots is now a palace of perfume and cosmetics as well as a host of unnecessary toiletries, food supplements and electrical items and I decided that I’d rather keep well away. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteRecycling schemes are so different across the country. I learned this when I visit the Norfolk site. It makes it very hard for people visiting . Apparently holidaymakers cause a lot of hassle here!
DeleteYes, like Sarah I live in Sussex so can drop my blister packs in the mixed recycling.
DeleteOur nearest Boots closed in the Autumn. It is 20+ miles in either direction to get to one now. We do have a local Superdrug, but I haven't noticed a blister pack recycling bin. I didn't know that blister packs can be recycled and am thinking, like you, that this is perhaps a bit of PR greenwashing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe ask if your super drug has a collection point?
DeleteWe have a similar problem with Norrie’s meds and also the tetrapacks for his oatmilk. The packs can be recycled but our local authority doesn’t do it! Catriona
ReplyDeleteIt costs more to transport tetrapaks from Norfolk to the nearest facility than the payment they get for them. So it doesnt happen.
DeleteWhat a blimmin' cheek of Boots! Wholly self-serving.
ReplyDeleteI take Stephs point about getting customers back in store though. I would not like to see the store disappear from the high street
DeleteI wouldn't entertain Boots! What a faff! I take my empties to a local church who donate them elsewhere for recycling. The most curious bit of recycling I've done recently has consisted of donating my old bras to a local funeral parlour who were asking for donations (to send to Africa)!
ReplyDeleteNow that's a very quirky bit of recycling. I'm sure there's a catchy slogan out there about undertakers providing uplift!!
DeleteLol!Hope my bolder holders end up providing uplift to alive bodies rather than non-alive!
DeleteThat is disgraceful. Boots should be ashamed. I have lots of packs and often wonder what is the best way to dispose of them. (The word APP fills me with terror!)
ReplyDeleteI suppose it is better than nothing. Good to know there are church groups out there who are offering this recycling service though
DeleteI was confused by this Angela and asked in store. You can just put the blister packs in the receptacle, you won’t get the points of course but they won’t go to landfill. The signage on the box is misleading and I agree with you about people without smart phones or who dont use apps. You would think that the group who use the most meds, older people would be properly catered for. Another instance of big business being out of touch with ordinary folk. Sandra.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will modify the signage
DeleteI hate this kind of thing, for many reasons. It's just marketing. I also hate the way you can't do anything these days without a smart phone.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I went to lunch with two other ladies last week and we made a date to do something else this week. I got my diary out and wrote it in. The older lady fished an old receipt from her bag to write it down on. The younger lady put the info into the calendar app on her smart phone. My method was quickest, the phone method took three times as long! Ha!!
I do hope the lady doesn't lose her receipt!
DeleteI don't envy you having all those blister packs to deal with. We get our pills in pill bottles (which are hard to open!), and of course they are another recycling question (I'm not sure if they are dumped when added to our recycle bin). Every Saturday I decant our pills and supplements into weekly organizers. Once in a while, DH's pill subscription arrives in boxes of blister packs and I have to pry out those 7 pills for the week, most irritating.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I saw a lampshade made out of used blister packs. Not something I want to try!
It is a shame we no longer have pill bottles imho
DeleteIt's a poor substitute really but, in the interest of at least doing something with them, I save the foil bits, put them in a bowl with any silver jewellery I want to clean along with a bit of toothpaste, bicarb and boiling water. The silver comes out really well usually. Like I say, a poor substitute but it feels like I have made an effort
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