A VISIONARY new contact lens recycling service in Dorchester is the second of its kind in the UK.

A Dorchester optician is launching the brand new service to help patients and the public recycle their disposable contact lenses, and is only the second in the country to do so.

Insight opticians in Tudor Arcade is inviting all contact lens wearers to recycle their monthly and daily disposable contact lenses and packaging, even if they're not registered with the branch.

Contact lenses and their packaging are normally too small to be recycled, and are made from a mix of complex materials that can't usually be processed by kerbside household recycling collections.

The number of contact lens wearers in the UK and Ireland has more than doubled over the last 12 years and reached 3.5 million last year, according to the Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers (ACLM).

A recent US study found that around 15-20 per cent of people dispose of their contact lenses using the sink or toilet.

The study, carried out by the Arizona State University, indicated that plastic from contact lenses flushed down the toilet has been found in wastewater treatment plants, which later ends up being spread on farmland and in the sea.

Insight optician practise manager, Georgie Hearn, hopes the new recycling service will contribute to helping reduce the amount of plastics and microplastics that end up in landfill and water supplies.

She said: "We at Insight are passionate about recycling and the effects plastic and waste are having on our environment. This is the first of many steps we are taking to try to reduce our carbon footprint.

"We are happy for anyone to recycle their lenses, they don't have to be our patients."

The bin and collection service is being provided by Terracycle, which says it is an 'innovative company that has become a global leader in recycling hard-to-recycle waste'.

The company website lists a range of strange and unusual items that can be recycled, including cigarette butts, flip flops, beard nets and even used chewing gum.