Reusable insulin pens can reduce plastic waste by 89%, carbon footprint by 40% and save the NHS 1-5% in prescription costs.
In England, ~4 million disposable insulin pens are prescribed annually (72% of all insulin pen prescriptions), accounting for 78 tonnes of plastic waste and 1,000 tonnes of CO2eq annually. Reusable insulin pens are available for most types of insulin. They are more sustainable (reducing plastic waste by 89% and carbon footprint by 40%), and many patients prefer them as they offer smart functionality and the cartridges take up less fridge space.
The cartridges are often cheaper or the same price as disposable with the pharmaceutical companies often providing the reusable pens free of charge. The bigger the total daily doses of insulin the larger the savings in terms of plastic, carbon footprint and money. For instance, someone who uses 40 units of insulin a day would be expected to save 7kg of plastic, 4.5kg CO2eq (equivalent to 15 miles per car) and £22.30 annually.
The first diabetes sustainability guidelines have been published in Devon and advise that reusable pens be offered as first-line, with instructions on how to prescribe the pens and cartridges. If individuals living with diabetes do not want a reusable pen or do not have the dexterity to change cartridges then they should be signposted to recycling schemes for disposable insulin pens offered by Novo Nordisk and Sanofi. Unfortunately, Lilly does not offer recycling of their disposable insulin pens (i.e., Humulin I and Admelog).
References:
Simpson, V. and Jones, A. (2024), Switching to reusable cartridge insulin pens can reduce National Health Service costs while delivering environmental benefits. Diabet Med e15409.