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By Michael Koditek, OD
Sept. 18, 2026
For some patients, their contact lens preferences go beyond vision, comfort and convenience. Increasingly, patients want to better understand how their contact lens wear aligns with their sustainability values, so practitioners should be prepared to address these questions and provide guidance.
In my practice, I’ve found that the best way to approach these conversations is to correct misconceptions about contact lens waste and educate patients on simple steps to make contact lens wear more sustainable—without compromising what’s right for their eyes.
Put Daily Disposable Waste into Perspective
One of the more common misconceptions I hear is that daily disposable contact lenses create more waste than reusable lenses. On the surface, that seems logical. A patient might compare 730 individual lenses each year with 24 and assume the environmental difference is substantial. But that comparison does not account for everything required to maintain reusable lenses, including multipurpose solution bottles and lens cases.
Research looking at the complete lens-wearing system found that full-time daily disposable wear generated approximately 1.06 kg of waste annually, compared with 0.83 kg for monthly reusable lenses. That’s a difference of roughly eight ounces over an entire year.
When patients hear that, the conversation tends to change. I’m not trying to convince them that waste doesn’t matter, but give them context they may not have had before.
This is an important distinction: If daily disposables are the right choice for a patient clinically, we should recommend them confidently while still taking the patient’s sustainability concerns seriously. Sometimes the most valuable thing we can provide is simply better information.
Enable Patients to Take Action
Once patients understand the daily disposable versus reusable lens situation, the next question becomes “What can I do with my used lenses and packaging?”
Our practice serves as a collection point for contact lens recycling. Bausch + Lomb’s ONE by ONE Recycling Program, offered in partnership with TerraCycle, accepts used contact lenses and eligible contact lens packaging from all brands through participating eye care practices. This is simple for practices to implement and gives patients an easy way to act on their priorities. We tell them to save their eligible lenses, blister packs and foil lids and bring them back to the office rather than just throwing everything away.
There are other sustainability initiatives that complement these efforts. For example, CooperVision partners with Plastic Bank to make its contact lenses net plastic neutral. This means that CooperVision funds the collection and recycling of ocean-bound plastic equivalent to the weight of the plastic used in participating lenses, blisters and packaging. In addition, MyDay lenses are now made with less carbon thanks to the company’s Made Better Innovation.
Practitioners don’t necessarily need to become sustainability experts, but we should at the very least know the features of the products we offer and the resources that are available. My recommendation is to ask your sales reps about their companies’ programs, make sure you (and your staff) understand them, and communicate the relevant information to patients.
For a patient who has hesitated to choose a daily disposable lens because of environmental concerns, knowing that recycling and other initiatives exist may help them feel more confident in a lens that otherwise meets their needs.
Look for Sustainable Practices That Also Makes Business Sense
Some of the best sustainability changes we’ve made at our practice haven’t involved contact lens materials at all.
One example is how we deliver contact lens prescriptions. Rather than relying on printed copies, we use a third-party service to send patients their prescriptions electronically by text and email.
While we initially looked at this as a practical way to meet prescription-release requirements, it has benefitted us on several fronts. Now, we’re using less paper and ink, patients don’t have to keep track of a physical prescription and our staff gets fewer requests to resend lost copies. When we calculated the cost of using the software versus printing prescriptions, the savings were greater than I expected.
These secondary benefits are something I think practices sometimes overlook. It’s easy to assume that operating more sustainably will cost more or create additional work for staff. In some cases, the opposite is true.
Look at the processes your practice repeats hundreds or thousands of times a year. Where do you find you’re still printing unnecessarily? Where could an electronic process save staff time? Are there changes that could simultaneously reduce waste and make something easier for the patient? Those are often better places to start than trying to launch a sweeping sustainability initiative all at once.
Start Simple
For a practice that wants to operate more sustainably but doesn’t know where to begin, my advice is to keep it simple.
Make sure your team understands the facts about contact lens waste so they can address patient misconceptions. You can start small by becoming a contact lens recycling collection point or simply learn more about different programs and initiatives offered by manufacturers. From there, you can look internally for opportunities to reduce waste in ways that also improve efficiency.
Not every patient is going to choose a practice based on sustainability. But there will always be patients for whom it is a significant priority. When they see that we understand their concerns and are making thoughtful choices ourselves, it can strengthen their connection to the practice.
Ultimately, sustainability doesn’t have to compete with patient care or good business. Done thoughtfully, it can support both.
Read more on contact lenses here.
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Michael Koditek, OD, graduated from the University of Colorado before earning his Doctor of Optometry degree (with honors) in 2011 from Pacific University College of Optometry. After beginning his career in Loveland, he transitioned to Carbon Valley Eye Care in 2014. Dr. Koditek received intensive training in medical eye care during his six-month internship at the American Lake Veterans Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. He subsequently achieved Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry in 2013. He provides medical and routine eye care, with an interest and expertise in managing dry eye and fitting specialty contact lenses. He is a member of the Colorado and American Optometric Associations and maintains Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry. |
