Findhorn's Fiona Thomson is still calling for sustainable blister pack disposal across the UK
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Nearly six months after a local woman made a public call for sustainable blister pack disposal in the north of Scotland and across the UK, there is still no official collection point for large volumes in the area.
Findhorn resident Fiona Thomson raised the issue in the Gazette in February, having set up a popular drop-off at Findhorn Village Centre but been advised by the nearest collector, Superdrug pharmacy in Inverness, that it cannot accept the amount of blister packs she is trying to deliver.
Fiona has contacted Moray Council and local politicians numerous times about the situation.
She said: “Richard Lochhead MSP is the only politician who has replied. But his ongoing conversations are proving fruitless. He said Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity in the Scottish Government, Lorna Slater, will talk to the pharmaceutical companies about sustainable packaging.
“I know there are solutions. The powers that be just don’t want to look at them.”
Medical blister packs are made of difficult-to-recycle materials. They are not accepted by most council recycling schemes.
Superdrug is accepting them in conjunction with recycling company TerraCycle, who convert them into reusable raw materials.
Fiona recently asked the local authority for an update on her request for a local recycling scheme.
A reply from the Economy, Environment and Finance department read: “Superdrug recycles them. Moray Council does not recycle these items. They should be placed in the residual waste bin.”
The Gazette has contacted Superdrug and Lorna Slater MSP for comment.
A Scottish Government spokesperson replied on the Green politician's behalf that pharmaceutical packaging is regulated by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
He added: “Pharmaceutical packaging is subject to strict regulatory requirements. It is therefore often not easily recycled. We are working with the other UK governments to consider how producer fees could be used in future to encourage businesses to make their packaging - including blister packs - easier to recycle.”
Moray MP Douglas Ross “applauded” Fiona’s efforts.
He said: “It is welcome that government’s across the United Kingdom are working together to explore how businesses can play their part in making items like this easier to recycle. However, it is disappointing that often Fiona is finding that even in a large city such as Inverness there is simply not the capacity for the amount of material she collects. That shows how far we still have to go to improve our recycling rates - which is often even harder in rural and remote communities in Moray and the Highlands.”
Meanwhile Fiona has been left frustrated with no definitive plan for the rubbish.
She said: “I understand the need for pharmaceuticals to be delivered in blister packs. Just not why, when there is a facility for recycling them, the organisations responsible for waste disposal at government and council level aren’t prepared to use it!”
She finished: “It needs to be progressed to a level which is cost effective. If enough people email or write to both our MP, MSP and Moray Council, they will realise how serious this situation is and how concerned people are.”
