Volume 200 - Issue 2
The after-life of drugs: a responsible care initiative for reducing their environmental impact
Authors: Phillip J Bergen and Simon E Appel
Med J Aust 2014; 200 (2): 83. || doi: 10.5694/mja13.11267
Published online: 3 February 2014
Published online: 3 February 2014
To the Editor: It is common for unwanted and expired medicines to be disposed of through general waste or, as raised recently by Fisher and colleagues, into the sewage system.1 These practices adversely affect not only the environment, but also social and economic determinants of health. For example, medicines discarded
in household bins may be accessible to unintended recipients including children, increasing the risk of ...
To the Editor: It is common for unwanted and expired medicines to be disposed of through general waste or, as raised recently by Fisher and colleagues, into the sewage system.1 These practices adversely affect not only the environment, but also social and economic determinants of health. For example, medicines discarded in household bins may be accessible to unintended recipients including children, increasing the risk of poisonings, misuse and abuse. It is critical that unwanted and/or expired medicines are disposed of safely.
In 1998 the Australian federal government introduced the national Return Unwanted Medicines (RUM) program, run by the not-for-profit company, the National Return and Disposal of Unwanted Medicines Limited, to provide a safe method of disposing of unwanted and expired medicines.2 Through the RUM program, consumers can dispose of unwanted and expired medicines in RUM bins, which are located in participating community pharmacies. Collected medicines are incinerated in accordance with regulatory and Environment Protection Authority requirements. This program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, and is one of only a handful of such national programs worldwide. It is offered free of charge to consumers and most community pharmacies across Australia participate in the program.
The RUM program collects over 600 tonnes of medicines each year. However, in the absence of any significant consumer marketing it is likely that most unwanted and expired medicines are still disposed of through general waste or sewage. Educating health professionals and consumers about the RUM program, as well as ensuring appropriate resources and funding, should be an essential component of the quality use of medicines in Australia.
Competing interests
Phillip Bergen has undertaken an audit of medicines discarded through the Return Unwanted Medicines program with the financial assistance of the Australian Government Department of Health, from the Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology Fund.
References
- Fisher PMJ, Smith DA, Collignon PJ. The after-life of drugs: a responsible care initiative for reducing their environmental impact. Med J Aust 2013; 199: 388-390.
- Return Unwanted Medicines (The RUM Project). http://www.returnmed.com.au (accessed Sep 2013).