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!
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ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteMy 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
ReplyDeleteOur 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.
ReplyDeleteWe 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
ReplyDeleteWhat a blimmin' cheek of Boots! Wholly self-serving.
ReplyDeleteI 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)!
ReplyDeleteThat 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!)
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