Cabinet Health launches national pharmaceutical plastic recycling program

New York-based sustainable health care company Cabinet Health, which previously created a refillable and compostable medicine system, is launching its first-ever nationwide pill bottle recycling program to address pharmaceutical plastics.

Through the program, the company says anyone in the U.S. will be able to request a recycling bag from Cabinet Health, ship back their old, empty plastic pill bottles—with all personal information removed—for free to Cabinet, where the bottles will then either be recycled or upcycled into an evolving art sculpture by interdisciplinary artist Kellie Gillespie. To participate, anyone in the U.S. can visit https://cabinethealth.com/products/refresh-bag to receive a recycling bag with a prepaid shipping label.

According to Cabinet, an estimated 165 billion plastic pill bottles enter oceans, waterways and landfills every year, while only an estimated 5 percent of plastic waste generated annually in the U.S. actually gets recycled. The amber pharmacy pill bottles, which make up a majority of all plastic pill bottles in the U.S., generally are not accepted by curbside recycling programs, contributing the same amount of waste roughly equivalent to filling more than 3,300 Olympic-sized swimming pools, the company adds.

“Pharmaceutical plastic waste remains an environmental issue, and Cabinet Health is committed to not only raising awareness but to providing tangible solutions to address it,” Cabinet Health co-founder and President Russell Gong says. “And this extends beyond our environment to human health, as we’re eliminating the eventual consumption of microplastics from our bodies. We are proud to partner with sculptural artists and mental health activist Kellie Gillespie to support her next piece of artwork that will live on well beyond the norm of a single-use plastic bottle.”

Cabinet says all plastic pill bottles received through the program will be incorporated within Kellie Gillespie’s next piece of artwork. With the program and respective art piece to follow, Cabinet adds its national program will enable Gillespie to transform America’s pill bottle waste into an art installation made entirely of repurposed items commonly discarded by society. The company says it hopes this initiative will help to further amplify and raise awareness around the growing plastic waste crisis and provide accessible opportunities for individuals to reduce their plastic waste while learning about more sustainable solutions in healthcare.

Previously, Cabinet Health developed what it claims is a first-of-its-kind, low-waste pill bottle solution free of single-use plastics. The system features glass bottles that can be infinitely reused, along with patented compostable pill packages made out of 100 percent-earth-digestible materials and are city-compost friendly. By switching to the brand’s refillable system, Cabinet says its customers can eliminate up to one pound of plastic annually and hundreds of pounds of plastic in a lifetime.

Cabinet Health products currently can be found on its website, via online retailers such as Grove Collaborative and Amazon and in-store in select CVS locations nationwide. Cabinet Health is a certified B-Corp. that prioritizes minimizing its carbon footprint and water and material waste in its offerings and practices.