Typically, prescriptions are written up by doctors and dispensed by pharmacies based on the principle that everything that is prescribed will ultimately end up being used.
Pharmacies will take great pains to avoid supplying too much or too little of the medicines people need, primarily for safety reasons but also to avoid the potential of unused and unwanted medicines, which must be safely and carefully disposed of.
They cannot simply be put in the general waste bin and put into landfill but must be specially disposed of.
Why is this? What can you do to safely get rid of medication you cannot or should not use, and what can you, your doctor and pharmacist do to ensure that there are as few unwanted medicines as possible?
Why Are Some Medicines Unwanted?
Prescription medicines are typically dispensed as a course of treatment that lasts no more than 28 days. They should be taken as directed whenever required and usually when they run out that is the end of the course unless it is a repeat or long-term prescription.
If everything is taken as directed, the only waste that will ordinarily result will be boxes, blister packs and bottles, all of which can typically be disposed of normally.
Unfortunately, for a wide range of different reasons, this is not always the case.
Sometimes a dose is missed due to time delays or forgetfulness. Sometimes a lower dose than required is taken, and sometimes they are taken at different times than they have been intended for, meaning that there are doses left over.
Alternatively, in some cases prescriptions are lost, replaced and then found again after they have expired, meaning that they cannot safely be taken.
As well as this, medications might be stopped due to side effects, changes in circumstances or changes in treatments. In most cases, doctors and pharmacists encourage people to complete a course of treatment, but in some cases that is either not possible or not safe.
Some medicines cannot be adequately split or reduced, such as inhalers or creams. This means that they are by definition oversupplied and whilst that is the safest option compared to the risk of running out, it does mean that there are going to be unused medicines left over.
Finally, there might have been a change to a dosage regime that has not been factored into a repeat prescription, meaning that medicines are still being dispensed that will not be used.
Why Is It So Hard To Dispose Of Medicines?
Medication cannot be simply disposed of like any other household waste, as there are both health and environmental implications to the unsafe disposal of unwanted medications.
The health implications are that bins and landfills are not completely secure, so it is possible that animals, people and potentially even children could get access to medicines that could potentially have life-threatening side effects if taken.
The environmental aspect of this complication is that the chemicals and drugs in medicines have been found to have leaked into the groundwater of landfill sites, which can sometimes pollute the surrounding area.
This is similar to why dentists had to be careful when disposing of dental fillings, due to the mercury content that was common in many amalgam fillings until recently.
Rather concerningly, there have been times when prescription medication has been found in trace amounts in water that has been treated at wastewater sites, which could have a wider effect.
This means that binning medicines or flushing them down the toilet is a potential hazard that could harm a lot of people, so it should not be done.
Thankfully, there is an easy solution for patients who have unwanted medications they need to get rid of.
What Can Patients, Doctors and Pharmacies Do About It?
All pharmacies have the provision to accept and dispose of unwanted medicines, which requires them to take unwanted medicines and dispose of them safely.
They can take all of the capsules, tablets, liquids, powders, inhalers and creams that have been handed to them by a patient and ensure that they are safely disposed of in a way that keeps both patients and the local community safe.
It is as simple as popping into a pharmacy and asking at the counter, and after a simple set of questions, they will take the medicines off of your hands.
The only exception to this is needles and sharp objects, which due to the risk of potential infection need to be disposed of via a local council service rather than through the pharmacy.