GHMC to launch pilot medicine waste collection drive in Hyderabad

The GHMC is set to launch a pilot medicine waste collection drive in Hyderabad by installing dedicated collection boxes at select medical shops. The initiative aims to promote the safe disposal of expired and unused medicines while protecting public health and the environment.

Hyderabad: After an e-waste drive and a sacred waste material drive, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is now gearing up to launch a medicine waste drive in the city on a pilot project basis.

Most households usually end up with some medicine or other that is left unused after a patient recovers, and in several cases, over-the-counter tablets and capsules that are kept as an emergency, go beyond the expiry date. Patients are often found disposing of medicine waste, including expired, unused, or leftover pharmaceutical products, either in dustbins or flushing them down the toilet.

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Though most hospitals follow safe procedures to dispose of the medical waste, either placing red biohazard bags or bins, individual patients do not have a special mechanism to dispose of their medicine safely, said a senior GHMC official who is handling e-Waste drive.

Patients usually are left with medicines ranging from tablets to capsules and syrups to tonics, unused or bought more than prescribed. Other medicine waste included pills, liquids, or creams/ointments used for skin, as well as cosmetic products.

Maintaining dedicated medicine waste boxes at home is suggested amid concerns that children might swallow or chew them in the absence of elders, posing a high health risk. This waste, in fact, also threatens public health and damages the environment, contaminating water sources, said the official.

The GHMC is planning to set up separate medicine waste boxes in reputed medical shops as part of a pilot project. Patients can deposit medicine that is unused or beyond the expiry date in these boxes. “The collected medicine waste will be sent to the identified units for recycling and safe disposal. We are planning to launch this initiative from July onwards,” added the GHMC official.