PETALING JAYA: The public should ensure that spoiled, expired or unused medicines are not thrown into domestic trash cans, toilets or sinks, as they can end up contaminating our water sources and contribute to health problems or worse, deaths, says the Health Ministry.
Instead, these medicines should be taken to collection centres at public or private health facilities, or selected chain pharmacies for proper disposal.
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“From these collection centres, the medicines will be transported to disposal centres where they will be burned at very high temperatures in incinerators.
“This method ensures that no pharmaceutical waste enters water sources,” the Health Ministry told The Star yesterday.
The ministry said the government has introduced the MyMediSAFE programme, an initiative focused on the safe disposal of medicines, collaborating with various strategic partners from the public and private sectors.
“Through the MyMediSAFE website (https://mymedisafe.org.my), the public can locate the nearest medicine collection centre and stay updated on current information about the proper disposal of medicines,” it added.
The ministry said the public should follow a few easy steps to dispose of unused medicine.
First, it said, separate expired, damaged or unused medicines, crossing out personal information and removing the Farmatag hologram safety label from the packaging.
“Pack your medicines in suitable containers. Do not remove medicines from their original packaging.
“You can bring the medicines to your nearest MyMediSAFE partner for proper and safe disposal,” it added.
The final step includes scanning the QR code on the collection box to answer a short survey.
The ministry explained that disposing of medicines together with domestic waste into toilets or sinks at home, or directly into drainage systems, can cause the pharmaceutical contamination of water sources such as rivers, lakes, ponds and seas.
“These water sources are subsequently processed and treated for human daily activities, including as sources of drinking water.”
It said the risk to human health is likely to increase with prolonged exposure to pharmaceutical waste found in drinking water sources, as pharmaceutical wastes interfere with the functioning of the body’s systems and potentially lead to health problems.
“Pharmaceutical waste from the antimicrobial group, such as antibiotics, can contribute to the issue of antimicrobial resistance.
“If this problem is not contained, the healthcare system will face a severe situation in the future, where there will be no effective antimicrobials left to treat microbial infections, potentially leading to fatal outcomes,” it added.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysian (UKM)’s faculty of pharmacy lecturer Dr Adliah Mhd Ali said medications and pharmaceutical products are categorised under clinical waste, and those that are unusable should be properly discarded.
“Pharmaceuticals such as cough syrup, which pose no hazard during collection, its disposal can be managed jointly with municipal wastes.
“Pharmaceuticals that pose a potential hazard when used improperly by unauthorised persons should be managed in an appropriate waste disposal facility,” she said.
Dr Adliah said the public should support the government’s MyMediSAFE initiative as it has been created to educate the community in disposing of their medications safely.
