Haleon and Pharmacycle Launch Nationwide Blister Pack Recycling Program in Australia

Haleon — the consumer health company behind Panadol — has joined forces with Pharmacycle to roll out a household mail-back scheme that diverts hard-to-recycle blister packs from landfill. According to statements from both companies, the initiative is designed to make recycling accessible to Australians regardless of where they live, including rural and remote communities.

How the program works

According to Haleon, consumers can order a pre-paid satchel, fill it with empty blister packs from any brand, and return it via Australia Post using the label supplied. Pharmacycle will then process the waste using a specialised system that separates plastic and aluminium, materials that typically cannot be recovered through standard kerbside recycling.

Existing footprint, expanded reach

Pharmacycle — described as Australia’s only end-to-end recycling program for blister pack waste and already operating collection bins in almost 1,000 pharmacies nationwide, as previously reported on 24 February by industry media — will manage the back-end processing for the mail-back stream. The partnership effectively extends Pharmacycle’s model from in-pharmacy drop-off to every household with a letterbox.

Free satchels for early registrants

To kickstart uptake, Haleon and Pharmacycle will provide free satchels to the first 3,000 people who register their interest, according to statements. After that, Haleon said it “intends to continue and expand this program into the future”.

“This partnership with Pharmacycle helps address a long-standing gap by offering a simple, household solution for blister pack recycling,” Haleon Marketing Director, Nagraj Iyer, said, noting that the collaboration “reflects a shared goal to make sustainability more accessible and achievable, especially for those in rural and remote communities”.

Why it matters

Blister packs — typically composed of layered plastic and aluminium — are notoriously difficult to recycle through conventional systems. By creating a dedicated, mail-back pathway, the partners aim to give those materials a second life and cut long-term waste.

Source: Pharmacycle