Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Moscow Government – Moscow Government –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
As part of the "Moscow EcoPoints" project, which launched last fall, used pill blister packs are now being accepted for recycling.
"Currently, there are approximately 600 collection points for various types of recyclable materials in the capital. Expanding the list of accepted fractions is an important step in developing a culture of separate collection. According to analytics, billions of pharmaceutical packages are produced in Russia annually, approximately 60 percent of which are in blister packs. This is a complex type of waste, however, with the materials it contains taking approximately 700 years to decompose. By separating waste, we prevent soil and water pollution, prevent harm to the health of animals, birds, and humans, and return valuable resources to the production cycle," she noted.
Yulia Urozhaeva, head of the capital's Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection.
Blister packaging combines plastic and aluminum foil, so it shouldn't be recycled with regular household waste. Without separate collection, it ends up in landfills, where it takes hundreds of years to decompose, causing serious damage to the ecosystem.
Now Muscovites have a convenient way to dispose of this waste. The resulting recyclable materials will be returned to the economy. This was made possible thanks to joint efforts. Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow and the Greenbox social project. Currently, 45 publicly accessible blister pack collection points have been installed in the capital. The containers are located throughout the city, including in the most popular locations: pharmacies, medical centers, and clinics. By the end of 2026, the number of blister pack collection points is planned to double.
Separate blister collection first became available to Moscow residents in 2021, and the initiative subsequently expanded to the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Ryazan, and Ivanovo. However, the capital remains the leader in terms of coverage, housing almost half of all collection points in the country.
In 2024, thanks to the participation of city residents, 1.2 tons of blisters were collected and recycled. This figure is projected to exceed two tons in 2025 and reach four tons in 2026. The collected materials are transferred to the National Ecological Company LLC for processing, where polymers (approximately 92.5 percent) and aluminum (approximately 7.5 percent) are extracted. The recycled materials are used, for example, in the production of plastic sewer pipes.
The "Moscow Ecopoints" project is extremely popular among Moscow residents. In addition to blister packs from medications, residents can donate clothing, textiles, tires, electronics, and books. A special interactive map is available.project website allows you to quickly find the nearest collection point and select the desired fraction of recyclable materials. This year, Moscow residents collected over 1,000 tons of clothing, over 460 kilograms of car tires, and approximately 26 tons of electronic scrap.
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