«Juan, shall I leave here the medicines for the Third World?’; ‘Juan, here are the x-rays of my mother’s hip’; ‘Juan, do you collect the antigen tests and used masks, right? The pharmacist Juan Enrique Garrido is “more than accustomed” to answering the questions of his clients about the collection of medicines at his pharmacy in Linares (Jaén). “People are becoming more aware, not only about the need, but also about the importance of recycling medicines well, but doubts and misunderstandings still arise about what type of products can be deposited in these special containers. We have found everything; from gloves to pregnancy tests or syringes, ”says the also national member of the pharmacy offices of the General Council of Pharmacists Associations.
Because at the more than 22,000 Sigre medicine collection points installed in pharmacies throughout the country, neither x-rays, nor antipyretics are left to send to the poorest countries, nor masks, nor antigen tests… «These white containers are exclusively for medicines: pills, syrups, eye drops, creams, capsules, ampoules, suppositories… And they must be deposited as they are at the collection point, including their annexes. In other words, everything is thrown away: the container, the cardboard box, the leaflet, the measuring spoon, the plastic syringe… Everything. A prior separation should not be done because we already do that at the packaging and waste classification plant that we have in the Valladolid town of Tudela de Duero”, explains Juan Carlos Mampaso, general director of Sigre.
Checking the medicine cabinet from time to time is “a fundamental step” to do good waste management and not accumulate boxes and boxes of medicines at home, “which many times you don’t even know what they are for and on top of that you run the risk of self-medicating”, experts warn. In addition to expired medications, empty containers and half-full treatments should also be taken to the pharmacy. “What’s left, take it to the pharmacy. We can’t take medicine on our own.” And very important: “The remains of the medicines (syrups, pills, ampoules…) are never thrown down the drain,” recalls Mampaso.
Antigens and masks
Another thing is medical devices such as masks (surgical, FFP2, FFP3…) or diagnostic tests (antigens, pregnancy…) that so often end up in the Sigre point by mistake, especially as a result of the pandemic. In this case, they have to be thrown in the same container where non-recyclable household waste is deposited (remaining fraction). “Years ago the same thing happened to us with X-rays. Everyone brought them to the pharmacy due to ignorance,” says Juan Enrique Garrido. By the way, X-rays are not thrown in the trash either, the correct thing to do is to deliver them to health centers or clean points.
Another very common mistake is to think that medicines can be reused. The Jaen apothecary tells and confirms the general director of Sigre that many customers take medicines to pharmacies that they do not use or that they have left half for delivery to people who need them, a practice that is prohibited by law. “Health regulations prevent the sale or marketing of any medication that is returned or delivered to pharmacies,” they specify in Sigre.
When the bags of the white containers are full, they are removed in the same vans that are responsible for the distribution of medicines to pharmacies and transferred to one of the 143 distribution warehouses scattered throughout the country. From there, they are taken to the packaging and waste classification plant, where the energy value of the medicines is used to transform them into fuel that is later used as energy in cement plants to replace coal and fuel. “From cough syrup to fuel. It is about trying to get the best environmental performance from medicines, ”summarizes Juan Carlos Mampaso.
– Why should we throw away all the medicine packaging instead of separating it at home?
– For a very simple reason. In the case of the primary packaging (the pill blister, the syrup bottle, the powder sachet…) it is because it is in direct contact with the medicine and it is better that it be treated in a specialized plant instead of depositing it in the yellow container and that the remains of the medicine contaminate the other residues. And in the case of cardboard boxes, it is because they give us information about the medicine in question, apart from the fact that they may also contain product remains. In addition, there are cancer treatments that are classified as dangerous (mainly cytotoxic and cytostatic) and cannot enter the circuit to become fuel. In this way, if they go inside the box, we can easily identify them (they have informative labels) before they enter the recycling chain and are removed.
With 100 grams per inhabitant and year, Spain is “in the upper middle part” of the European countries that recycle the most medicines, “although this is not the objective. What we are looking for is to minimize the environmental impact of these containers and avoid the accumulation of medicines in homes.”
How to store medicines
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Experts advise checking your home medicine cabinet every 6 to 12 months, at the most. Remove all expired, unused or poorly preserved medicines and take them to the nearest Sigre point.
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Keep medicines in their original container and do not throw away the leaflet
In this way, you will have all the necessary information (expiration date, storage conditions, recommended dose…) and it will also facilitate the review task. -
Store empty containers (bottles, aerosols, ampoules…) and cardboard boxes in the medicine cabinet
This is very important because the containers always contain traces of the drug. Do not store leftover doses of treatments prescribed by the doctor. -
Store medicines in a cool, dry place.
The bathroom and the kitchen should be avoided because they are the spaces in the house where the most humidity is generated and the most sudden changes in temperature occur. “Store them in a place where the light does not shine directly on the medicine and make sure it is in a place out of the reach of children”