Accurate, balanced evidence-based information about medicines
What to do with unwanted medicines What to do with unwanted medicines
How many out-of-date or unwanted medicines are lying in the cupboards in your house? Where are the left over tablets you stopped taking last year?
Dangers
We all understand the dangers that unwanted medicines in the house pose to children because of the risk of accidental poisoning. However, few of us think about the dangers they can pose to the community as a whole. Medicines past their use-by date may slowly deteriorate and become less effective.Medicines used by someone other than the person for whom they were intended may be unsuitable for that person, or they may interact with their other medicines and cause a harmful reaction.Return Unwanted Medicines Project
So, what should we do with our unwanted medicines?Simply putting them down the toilet or sink or in the rubbish bin is not the answer. Medicines disposed of via the toilet or sink may go through the sewage treatment process unchanged, which can pollute our waterways. Medicines disposed of via the rubbish bin usually end up in landfills, which can pollute our soils and air.
The Return Unwanted Medicines (RUM) Project is an Australia-wide scheme, funded by the Australian Government, that enables each of us to dispose of our unused medicines safely by taking them to a local pharmacy.
To dispose of your unwanted medicines, simply take them to any pharmacy (it doesn’t have to be the one you got them from). There is no charge for the service.
The pharmacy will place the medicines in a special yellow container. When the container is full, the pharmacy will arrange for it to be transported to a disposal depot where it will be destroyed in a high temperature incinerator.
Do your bit
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Further information
To obtain a brochure about the RUM project, ring Simon Appel, the Project Manager, on 03 9583 8699 or1300 650 835, or visit the RUM Project website.
The information in MedicinesTalk is not medical advice, so seek professional help before making any decisions based on this information.
This article was accurate and up-to-date when it was published. The evidence or context for this article might have changed since then.
MedicinesTalk is a free quarterly newsletter for consumers written by consumers about using medicines wisely. Subscribe to the hard copy version using our online ordering system, or write to MedicinesTalk, National Prescribing Service Limited, PO Box 1147, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012.
