Nanodropper Helps Mitigate Medication Waste and Plastic Waste — Here’s How
- Using the Nanodropper Adaptor on compatible medication bottles can reduce your carbon footprint associated with prescription medications by 67% and help save hundreds of millions of eyedrops per year.
The healthcare sector accounts for approximately 10% of greenhouse gas emissions every year in the United States. Nanodropper was developed to reduce waste found in current standard-of-care practices in chronic eye disease management, one drop at a time. The Nanodropper Adaptor doesn’t just reduce eyedrop waste — the technology helps mitigate plastic and surgical waste, as well.
How do eyedrops account for waste in healthcare?
Prescription medications rank among the top three greenhouse gas expenditure categories within the healthcare sector, along with hospital care and physician and clinical services, according to a 2016 study exploring the impact of the U.S. healthcare system on public health.
With more than 3 million glaucoma patients in America alone and each patient using an average of 3.6 eyedrop medications (each bottle weighs about 6.5 grams), that constitutes more than 800 metric tons of plastic use per year.
How does Nanodropper help?
Nanodropper helps curb medication waste and plastic waste.
- The Nanodropper Adaptor increases bottle life by nearly three times by decreasing the size of eyedrops by about 62%, according to a recent study. This means that a prescription that once lasted one month or less will now last around three months.
- 1 prescription every 3 months will save 2 plastic bottles (and 2 additional trips to the pharmacy), thus reducing your carbon footprint associated with prescription medications by 67%.
- Widespread use of the Nanodropper on glaucoma medication bottles (which are also some of the most expensive eyedrops on the market) can significantly reduce the hundreds of metric tons of annual plastic waste.
Let’s Break Down a Real-World Example
- A widely used glaucoma eyedrop medication is timolol maleate. Our study found that a typical 2.5-mL bottle of timolol contained 83 conventional eyedrops, and produced 256 microdrops with a Nanodropper attached. This creates 173 additional doses per bottle, on average.
- In 2020, there were more than 2,625,143 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) claims filed for timolol prescriptions (a common glaucoma eyedrop treatment).
- Potential savings with Nanodropper and ONLY timolol prescriptions:
- 2,625,143 bottles x 173 additional drops per bottle = 454,149,379 doses saved in 1 year
Nanodropper is also featured by EyeSustain, a global coalition of eye societies, organizations, and ophthalmologists that is focused on reducing the carbon footprint of our healthcare system. Visit their website to learn more about their efforts.
The Nanodropper team is committed to our goal of minimizing waste at every step of the product life cycle, from pharmaceutical manufacturing, to single-plastics use, and carbon dioxide emissions. As we continue to grow, sustainability is at the forefront of everything we do!
