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What to do with

Medicines

Unopened, unused and out-of-date medicines should be returned to pharmacies for disposal.

Inhalers should not be put in the waste bin as they contain gases which are harmful to the environment. Instead they can be recycled at any pharmacy.

How to dispose of unwanted medicines

  • Return them to a pharmacy or chemist for safe disposal.
  • Do not flush medicines down the toilet.
  • Tablet blister packs are not recyclable and should be placed in the waste bin when empty.
  • The cardboard box that houses the blister packs can be recycled, as can any paper inserts.
  • Visit our What To Do With Inhalers page to find out how to recycle inhalers.
Wasted or unused medicine is a serious and growing problem within the NHS that you can help tackle. It is estimated that as much as £300million is wasted every year on unused or partially used medication which cannot be recycled or re-used. A campaign called Only Order What You Need, working with the NHS, asks people to think carefully before ordering repeat prescriptons.
Only order what you need
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Find out how to recycle:

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The Waste and Resources Action Programme (which operates as WRAP) is a registered UK Charity No. 1159512 and registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales No. 4125764.

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