What do you do with your unused medicines? <\/p>\n
A new agreement between the HSE<\/a> and pharmacists means you will soon be able to bring your old pills and medicines to a community pharmacy where they will be disposed of responsibly.<\/p>\n What we do with these is important. Medication waste is a growing ecological, economic and public health challenge across Europe \u2013 that\u2019s according to a conference on the matter held in University of Lodz last year as part of Poland\u2019s presidency of the Council of the European Union<\/a>. <\/p>\n Homes in the EU are accumulating significant quantities of expired medications due to overprescribing, people not completing a course of medicine, a lack of public awareness, and inadequate disposal systems, according to experts and policy makers.<\/p>\n Between 10 per cent and 45 per cent of household drug expenditures are ultimately wasted, the conference heard. <\/p>\n Improper disposal \u2013 often through household bins or flushing \u2013 leads to contamination of water and soil, contributing to environmental degradation and antimicrobial resistance. Despite this, systems for proper collection and disposal remain underdeveloped, and public awareness is limited, the conference heard. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t throw your unused medicines into general waste, Ireland\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> warns. <\/p>\n Putting them in your household bins, in the toilet, or down the sink is making the planet sick. Even small amounts of medicines can affect freshwater ecosystems.<\/p>\n [\u00a0\u2018Wrong on so many levels\u2019: are we paying too much for our drugs to be dispensed?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Pharmaceuticals can be found in surface and groundwater across Europe, affecting crops and wildlife, says the European Commission<\/a>. Failures in the production and disposal of pharmaceuticals are affecting the behaviour of fish and animals and their ability to reproduce, it says. <\/p>\n When we dispose of medicines inappropriately, micro-organisms such as bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics \u2013 and this has dire consequences for all of us.<\/p>\n Storing medicines in our homes long-term isn\u2019t necessarily safe either. It can contribute to accidental poisonings, intentional overdose and inappropriate sharing of medicines<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As part of an agreement last year between the HSE, Department of Health<\/a> and Irish Pharmacy Union<\/a>, the Dispose of Unused Medicines Properly (DUMP) campaign will mean the public will soon be able to bring unused or out-of-date medicines to community pharmacies where they can be disposed of properly.<\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty of consumer demand for this \u2013 a HSE DUMP campaign run in Waterford in 2023, for example, saw 32,800 pills returned.<\/p>\n Government procurement for a new service to collect and dispose of unused medicines from community pharmacies is now under way and government website Mywaste.ie<\/a> says the new service should be available to the public from April. <\/p>\n There will be a public-awareness campaign to advise people what medicines can be returned. Pharmacies will be required to use uniform signage to indicate that they provide the service. <\/p>\n\n