Vast quantities of pharmaceuticals are wasted each year, primarily as unwanted ‘trade’ samples and surplus or date-restricted stocks held by small dispensaries.

Leaving aside the matter of excreted drug substance which, though steadfastly ignored by regulators, is the main contributor to environmental contamination these unwanted pills and potions can sometimes be removed from the disposal chain for re-use by those less who are in need.

The Clinical Waste Discussion Forum has been pleased to support the work of InterCare based here in the UK, while in America PharmaCares is offering a similar system tailored to the US model of family healthcare and private physicians. This is the best of recycling. Collecting and redistributing unwanted pharmaceuticals for use by the less advantaged, this process is fraught with difficulty. Uncertainties about storage conditions and stability leading to possible adverse events and, almost inevitably in the US, to litigation must create a perpetual shadow over what is otherwise a great scheme.

However, there are some major winners, of those who will receive pharmaceuticals that they would otherwise not afford, and of course the additional protection of the environment that is not burdened by additional and avoidable waste.