Older folk will remember that years ago prescription pills came in a small glass bottle with a plug of cotton wool in the top. Then plastic bottles were introduced. Now many commonly taken pills are supplied in blister packs. And those used blister packs soon mount up.
Blister packs are made of different materials including plastic and aluminum, so they can’t be put in your recycle bins for kerbside collection. They can only be recycled using specialized technology.
Friends of the Farm (FOF) Māngere Bridge set up a recycle bin system for locals at Māngere Bridge Library several years ago, supplying fabric shopping bags ( to reduce usage of single use plastic bags), and soon added to this a drawer for empty Colgate oral health products and then another drawer for used batteries. Locals have supported this recycling initiative and the amount collected and recycled has increased exponentially over the last few years. For instance, 20kg of used batteries are collected each month.
Blister pack collection for recycling was introduced July 2024 and now in November 2024 we have our first box full and ready to send for recycling. Just remember to remove the sticker with your name on it from the empty blister pack!
FOF member Debbie says “The battery and blister pack collections are growing steadily each month as more of our community become aware of the service at the library. So be sure to tell your friends and family”

Read more…
- 2024 Volunteer Celebration and Thank You
- Got Any Blisters? I mean Blister Packs…
- Papua New Guinea Pidgin Language Week Celebration
- We Love Libraries!
- It’s a Stitch-Up!
- Cleaning Our Foreshore
- Our 8th Repair Café
- Bee Supermarket at Ambury Farm Park?!
- Māngere Bridge Seedling & Seed Swap Day
- The Recycling Bug is Generational