Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal

Pharmaceutical waste can be generated from many activities and locations in health facilities. If you have a compounding pharmacy on site, there is a waste of drugs. Any place where drugs are used can be the site of spills, half-used bottles, and IV devices with drug residues. Discarded pharmaceutical products may present particular disposal and management challenges. Large quantities of drugs stored in pharmacies, distribution centers, hospitals, etc., must be managed to minimize the risk of release or exposure to workers and the public.

Pharma Waste Disposal aims to mitigate unnecessary risks to healthcare practitioners and the public in the treatment of pharmaceutical waste.

Pharmaceutical waste includes:

Used medicine/expired medicine

Packaging contaminated with drugs

Articles used for handling and administering drugs, such as syringes contaminated with drugs.

The most common way to dispose of medical waste is autoclave, which is a safe and effective way to protect the community and the environment. After the medical waste autoclave treatment process, the waste is compacted and sent to a landfill or waste energy facility. Since the waste has been proven to be non-contagious, it is safe to dispose of it with other ordinary waste.

In most hospitals, these medical wastes are normally discharged, except for certain medicines, which need to be placed in waste incinerators. Proper and compliant incineration methods are beneficial, although burning drugs in open containers or at low temperatures releases toxins into the air.