How to dispose of out-of-date medicines or tablets?

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Obviously need to careful when disposing of out-of-date tablets or medicines and am finding it harder as time goes by to do this safely.

Local chemist shop used to take them no problem but they say because of Covid they are unable to do so at the moment. They did not even insist on the prescriptions having been dispensed by them and were very obliging in the past but understand that space is their problem.

Another pharmacy have a sign up to say they charge €10 to take out-of-date stuff back!!

When I asked at another pharmacy they would only take their own stuff back.

Any advice as to other options?
 
My chemist takes them back if you bring them in a bag so they can park them for 48 hours for safety. And the local primary healthcare centre takes back unused dressing packs the same way. Suggest this to them maybe?
 
Any way to know if your general waste is incinerator bound?
You wouldn't want it to end up in landfill but I would assume - open to correction - if it's going to an incinerator it'd be disposed of as safely as the chemist would?
 
Part of the problem is that HSE changed their cost plans (for want of a better expression) for pharmacies; they used to be able to get a payment for disposal of unused medication, but a few years ago (5?) the HSE stopped this.
 
Safe Option (and free of any charges):- Place all your unwanted tablets in a plastic bag and seal it. Use a hammer to make pulp of the contents. Then empty bag into your waste bin.
 
@Leper - unfortunately it's not actually safe - medication should not be put in the general waste. Bring it back to the pharmacy you got it from.
 
Leper said:
Safe Option (and free of any charges):- Place all your unwanted tablets in a plastic bag and seal it. Use a hammer to make pulp of the contents. Then empty bag into your waste bin.
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Problem Leper is the drug active ingredients esp. antibiotics, hormone treatments , etc leech into the groundwaster water surrounding city dumps rather than persons using them. Same for metals & mercury , you dont want them getting into cities water supply ..even in diluted form.
 
Other posters have indicated that some pharmacies aren’t accepting them due to Covid...
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COVID is being used as an excuse - they don't get a payment from HSE anymore, that's the real issue. Pharmacies get deliveries every day that they have to deal with, returned medication can be handled in the same way; so don't take no for an answer.
 
Just wondering, when people talk about "out of date" medicine are they talking BB or UB dates ??
I would have no problem using certain medicines that are months even years beyond the BB date
But would not use anything that is past it's UB or expiry date
 
Thirsty said:
Pharmacies get deliveries every day that they have to deal with, returned medication can be handled in the same way; so don't take no for an answer.
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Unfortunately not as simple as that, while pharmacies are permitted to accept returns of unused medication under the Regulation of Retail Pharmacy Businesses Regulations, they are under no obligation to do so. Disposal of unused medication is governed by the Waste Management Act, and so only licensed carriers can be used to transport from the pharmacy, companies delivering supplies to pharmacies generally aren't licensed for waste handling.

Occasionally the Dispose of Unused Medicines Properly (DUMP) campaign facilitate returns via participating pharmacists while calling on the HSE to implement a national scheme.
 
@Leo - you misunderstand me.

The pharmacy in question was using COVID as an excuse to not handle returned medication. Since they handle incoming deliveries, there's no 'COVID' reason why they can't take in the returned medication.
 
Thirsty said:
@Leo - you misunderstand me.

The pharmacy in question was using COVID as an excuse to not handle returned medication. Since they handle incoming deliveries, there's no 'COVID' reason why they can't take in the returned medication.
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I was replying to the 'don't take no for an answer'. People should know pharmacies are perfectly entitled to say no before they go in making demands. Refusing to accept could be seen as a valid measure to reduce the numbers entering the premises to those who need to avail of the service.
 
Given that there is no other safe way to dispose of medication; customers have to insist that pharmacies do so.

Safely disposing of unused medication is just as important to public health.
 
Just before Covid my son got a prescription . He met me about ten mins after and showed me what he got. I recognised one of them and knew that there was some at home. We walked back to the chemist, same girl, and told the story , she said that they could not take it back , no way. I said that he had just bought it but it did not matter.
 
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