Proper way: A woman throwing unused and expired medicine into a disposal bin at KPJ Ampang Hospital. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
PETALING JAYA: When technician Shamri’s terminally ill mother passed on, the family did not know what to do with the leftover doses of morphine.
They poured them down their bathroom sink.
It was only years later that Shamri, 30, realised that what they had done was harmful for the environment.
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“There should be more aggressive campaigns by the government for more awareness to save the environment and also the economy,” he said yesterday.
He is not alone. Homemaker Swee Lian, 52, has been throwing the inhalers she bought for her asthmatic son into general waste.
She was surprised to learn that throwing medicine away was harmful to the environment.
“Doctors or pharmacists should inform their patients how to dispose of medicine properly,” she said.
Executive Celine Chan, 25, says she knows about the safe disposal of batteries, but not about medicines.
“I used to just throw my old medicine into the bin,” she said.
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Chan has just learnt that the government has a “Return Your Medicines” programme.
The programme was introduced in 2010 to allow patients to return their unused or expired medicines to public health facilities, but many still do not know about it or of the proper way to dispose of medicine waste.
People are still tossing unused or expired medicines into the bin, although some private health entities have been advocating responsible medicine disposal.
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The problem has been made worse due to limited access to collection facilities, says Sunway University’s Prof Dr P. Agamutu.
He said over 90% of the medical waste was being dumped into domestic refuse chambers without segregation, causing most of it to end up in landfills.
“There are not enough facilities for the public to dispose of their unused or excess medicine. Only some public and private clinics or hospitals have such facilities.
“People find it a hassle to travel to the premises just to return medicine waste,” said the School of Interdisciplinary Studies associate dean.
He said that while the amount of medicine waste was low – around 2% of the total waste produced – some substances if left at landfills would pose a hazard to the environment.
“Some substances cannot be treated when they are in our water. Some medications might contain hormones or enzymes that are indestructible through water treatment,” he added.
Recently, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the cost to treat contaminated water due to improper disposal of medicine waste would reach RM3mil.
Prof Agamuthu suggested the government incentivise the public, like it does with blood donations, by giving regular donors special privileges when getting treatment at public hospitals.
“Through this, we can slowly change the attitude of people. The ministry can also amend existing regulations to make it stricter,” said Prof Agamuthu, who is also vice-president of the Society of Solid Waste Management Experts in Asia and Pacific Islands.
Waste management specialist Dr Theng Lee Chong agreed that incentivising the public should be considered and said more public-private partnerships can be formed to boost awareness.
“As long as there is a distribution route for medicine from suppliers to the medical premises (even in rural areas), there is a possibility that medicine waste can be channelled back to the suppliers or to proper disposal facilities,” he said.
