How to dispose of expired medication

Most households have a medicine drawer or cabinet that just gets fuller each year with half-used medication or expired antibiotics.

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When it comes to spring-cleaning, we tend to just “chuck” it away with our general waste or flush it down the toilet.

But doing so has negative effects on the environment and human health.

Most people are unaware of the Medicines and Related Substances Act (101 of 1965) and how it applies to them.

For example, many would think it best to flush liquid medication down the drain and toilet.

“This medication will end up in our water system, where it can be harmful to the environment, plants, animals and even humans as molecules inevitably find their way back into our food chain.

“According to the Medicines and Substance Act, the disposal of any medicines down municipal sewers is against regulations,” said Justice Tootla, MD of waste management company Averda.

The disposal of expired medicines along with general household waste is also a cause for concern as it will eventually end up on a landfill site, presenting two problems.

One is waste pickers and drug addicts, who scour these landfills looking for either left-over medication containing cortisone or needles used for example by a person who is diabetic, fuelling their addiction and risking their health.

“The second problem is the danger it presents to our environment. When biological materials start to decay, they release methane gas into the atmosphere and this is many times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide,” said Tootla.

How should consumers safely and responsibly dispose of their household’s medical waste?

Tootla suggests the public, especially people who have chronic diseases, can purchase the correct medical waste containers from reputable suppliers and use those to dispose of expired medicines or used needles.

These containers must be kept in a safe storage place and once filled, taken to either their local pharmacy or to a certified registered medical waste facility that will incinerate the waste according to the outlined regulations.

“For example, our facilities do take walk-ins. The general public normally has only small amounts of this waste stream, which can be deposited at a minimal cost,” says Tootla.

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Depending on the weight, you are looking at a cost of between R20 to R100, which is nothing when compared to the long-term effects of not correctly disposing of medical waste.

“After disposal is complete, one should by regulation receive a safe destruction certificate, offering consumers not only peace of mind that it has been disposed of correctly but also offers relief on landfills.

“Once the deposited waste arrives at a registered facility, it undergoes one of the following processes: if the medication falls under schedule one to four (such as most over-the-counter medication) they will immediately be incinerated on site.

“Schedule five to six medicines will require an external inspector from a government body, such as the SAPS and a registered pharmacist will need to be present during the incineration.

“Once the procedure is complete, the pharmacist will sign it off with their registration code from the South African Pharmacy Council.

“The same process is undertaken for schedules seven and eight medicines with the exception that there need to be two pharmacists present.

“If we are serious about making a difference to the world we live in, it begins with the small changes we need to make when disposing of any of our waste streams, be it at home or the office.

“It is our responsibility to protect and take care of our environment and remember that all our precious ecosystems are deeply connected,” said Tootla.

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