Recycling pre-filled insulin pens

pawprint91

pawprint91

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For those of us still on pre-filled insulin pens (or in my case, putting off ringing the GP to get a prescription changed 😉) I have just found this fantastic scheme that is free to participate in, so thought I’d share (sorry if it’s common knowledge!). You just need to send off for a recycling box or ask for one at your local pharmacy.

PenCycle

Find out more about PenCycle, a recycling initiative for pre-filled Novo Nordisk pens.
www.pen-cycle.co.uk www.pen-cycle.co.uk
 
Think the novo scheme has been around a while, sure I’ve heard of it before. Unfortunate that they only accept novo pens and there’s no equivalent for sanofi pens.
 
I may be a bit of a cynic but I am not sure they want lots of people to use the system. I believe the returned pens have to be shipped back to the factory on the continent and I imagine it is expensive separating the plastic from the glass and sending each off for recycling, so it may well be costing the company more than it saves. My gut feeling is that this is a box ticking exercise to make their company appear more environmentally friendly.
I would even wonder what actually happens to the plastics which are recovered as I believe hard plastics are harder to recycle and the company itself will not be recycling them but probably passing them on to a third party company to "recycle", plus there are now the extra boxes used for collection and of course the shipping, so the whole process may actually not be helping the environment at all.

I think you would probably be making a better environmental decision by swapping to reuseable pens and dramatically reducing the plastic used in the first place.
 
RBZ5416 said:
It really ought to be at least promoted on the box the pens come in.
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It hasn't been running for very long, so I guess it's much too soon for them to have updated their packaging.

(As a reminder, most people who use disposable pens would probably be better off with reusable ones. It's worth considering, in any case.)
 
@rebrascora I see your point completely about the boxes/shipping etc and it wasn’t one I’d really considered, just got excited about the recycling prospect! I do have a small stock pile of insulin pens in the fridge, so even if I was to switch over tomorrow, I feel slightly better they’re not going straight in the bin when used - well, I hope they’re not and trust novo to recycle them correctly.
 
Sad to say but much of the stuff that goes for 'recycling' is not recycled at all and the economies of it don't stack up. The worry is also Microplastics produced from biodegradable plastics which can get into the food chain.
The thing that bugs me is that black plastic plant pots which I reuse and they last for ever, went from being black to grey, pink or whatever so they can be recycled but they disintegrate in no time.
 
rebrascora said:
I may be a bit of a cynic but I am not sure they want lots of people to use the system. I believe the returned pens have to be shipped back to the factory on the continent and I imagine it is expensive separating the plastic from the glass and sending each off for recycling, so it may well be costing the company more than it saves. My gut feeling is that this is a box ticking exercise to make their company appear more environmentally friendly.
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Used pre filled pens once & there's no glass in them it's all plastic
 
Bruce Stephens said:
It hasn't been running for very long, so I guess it's much too soon for them to have updated their packaging.
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I ordered mine in July last year, so I'd have thought that was plenty of time.

Just for general info, the boxes arrive flat-packed in an envelope & hold 12 pens. Well they'd actually probably hold a good few more but for some reason are limited to 12. There's a list of pharmacies on the web site were you can drop them off or you can just drop them in a postbox once sealed.
 
nonethewiser said:
Used pre filled pens once & there's no glass in them it's all plastic
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Given the number of times my butter fingers have dropped cartridges, I am glad they are not glass.
I agree it is sad for the environment but I feel this is one time that practicality must win.

I have been using reusable pens for the last twenty years. They haven't changed much in design but the first ones were primarily metal. The only time airport security has been concerned by my diabetes kit was spotting a metal tube when they x-rayed my luggage.
 
Lucyr said:
Think the novo scheme has been around a while, sure I’ve heard of it before. Unfortunate that they only accept novo pens and there’s no equivalent for sanofi pens.
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Sanofi Insulin Pen Recycling | Reconomy

Reconomy is the leading voice for sustainability and the circular economy in our sector. Discover find out more on our Sanofi Insulin Pen Recycling page today
www.reconomy.com www.reconomy.com
They now offer an envelope where u can actually send back 12 pens in the post and they take a lot of diffrent type my family mainly use novo rapid and solo star and we now have both the box novo and solo star the. Envelope
 
callmealf said:

Sanofi Insulin Pen Recycling | Reconomy

Reconomy is the leading voice for sustainability and the circular economy in our sector. Discover find out more on our Sanofi Insulin Pen Recycling page today
www.reconomy.com www.reconomy.com
They now offer an envelope where u can actually send back 12 pens in the post and they take a lot of diffrent type my family mainly use novo rapid and solo star and we now have both the box novo and solo star the. Envelope
Click to expand...
It would still be better to get reusable pens and cartridges on prescription rather than recycle disposable pens.
 
rebrascora said:
It would still be better to get reusable pens and cartridges on prescription rather than recycle disposable pens.
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Not always possible though. If you use Lantus and need a memory feature you need to use disposable pens. If you need larger doses of basal and so can’t use a half unit reusable pen then the refillable ones aren’t always manageable, I struggle with them enough that I can’t use a refillable pen for basal because I need more than the 30u in a junior star reusable pen.
 
Lucyr said:
Not always possible though. If you use Lantus and need a memory feature you need to use disposable pens. If you need larger doses of basal and so can’t use a half unit reusable pen then the refillable ones aren’t always manageable, I struggle with them enough that I can’t use a refillable pen for basal because I need more than the 30u in a junior star reusable pen.
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You could administer your dose in 2 injections though if you need larger doses, which is probably better for your sites and provides more reliable absorption than injecting one large dose into one site.

For instance I split my 22unit morning dose of Levemir into 2x11unit jabs one into each buttock, because I believe it is more reliable/even absorption and better for my body. It is a personal choice though, but just saying there are work arounds.
 
rebrascora said:
You could administer your dose in 2 injections though if you need larger doses, which is probably better for your sites and provides more reliable absorption than injecting one large dose into one site.
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I couldnt do that in a juniorstar pen, injecting 30u in a juniorstar pen means the dial is a long way out and it’s physically difficult to coordinate pressing that
 
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