Diabetes Pen Recycle aka PenCycle

Initiative – Description

Every year in the UK, pens are among 23 million medical pens that end up incinerated or sent to landfill as, until now there has not been a viable recycling alternative.

Across LLR community pharmacies have partnered with Novo nordisk and are championing PenCycling, a free and green initiative.

Why get involved?

PenCycle will not only help reduce waste and advance the sustainability agenda of community pharmacy, but it will also be supporting the transition of the UK health sector towards a greener future.

During the pilot, a total of 12,000 used pens were returned for recycling. 3,800 pens came back from Leicestershire & Rutland alone with the support from Community Pharmacy Leicestershire and Rutland.

How do I get involved?

To sign up and get started click on the link below

PenCycle – Pharmacy leaflet_Interactive_2022 version.pdf (dropbox.com)

Diabetes’ Pen Recycle – Community Pharmacy Leicestershire and Rutland

Success in 2023!

Following a successful pilot launch in Nov’21, the scheme went national in Oct’22. From launch, the scheme has seen 451,000 (rounded) used pre-filled pens returned for recycling & repurposing.
- The equivalent plastic waste saving of this is 4.7 tonnes of plastic which has been diverted from landfill and incineration.
Returns are increasing month-on-month. The average number (3 months) of pens returned by month is now at 41,000 (rounded). Postal return is the predominant route of returns, however in recent months returns in community pharmacy has picked up.
Still, approximately 3,600 community pharmacies are signed up to the scheme and facilitating returns. Throughout 2023, Novo Nordisk has not proactively promoted the scheme to community pharmacy, but this activity will pick up in 2024.
As awareness of the scheme builds, both primary and secondary care settings are getting involved in engaging patients using these pens. Since launch, around 250 GP Surgeries and approximately 150 Hospital settings have asked to be provide the PenCycle return boxes to make patients aware of the scheme and engage them to start returning their used pens for recycling.