Dear EF

I have a bunch of expired medicines at home, that i would like to dispose of properly.

After taking a look into http://www.sonderabfall.zh.ch/, it is still not clear to mean whether i can just bring them to the nearest pharmacy (my pidgeon german doesn't help either ).

Does anyone know how to do this?

Another question - does anyone know if there is any insitution that can take care of medicines still in good state, but that i won't need to take? Like those extra pills of antibiotics or that medicine that caused you more pain than heal?

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Lucy

I've never heard of disposing of them properly. Usually I just crush them and throw them out, or flush down the toilet. Mostly so they do not get into the wrong hands in a big city of dumpster divers.

I took some bits that my mum left here to the local Kantonspital. They were happy to take them.
I'm not sure that flushing them is the answer

I've given back expired medicines in a pharmacy and they were accepted without problems. I fear that's the only option for still good medicines, too.

I think you'll find chemists will happily take them and dispose of them correctly. For free.

If you doubt this, walk into a chemist you'll never use again and hand them over - and be prepared to run away if they try to give them back or charge for disposal...

oh happy fishes, oh happy fishes
Oh happy little fish in the sea,
waiting for its next fix to come
Oh happy fishes

See I don't get that. Now if everyone did it at the same time. Ok, big deal. But isn't the water treated with mass amounts of chemicals before being put back it's natural source?

I'm not trying to be mean or sarcastic here. Although I think all the pharmacy does is end up shipping them off to biohazzard dump.

If it's tylenol you can crush it and spread it in your lawn. It's actually good for the lawn. That and Cola. 8th grade science project, don't ask.


Edit: I should say that maybe my nursing life has made me a bit lax about things. I take scripts after expiration dates. Never know when your going to hurt your back and need that Tylenol #3.
Antibioics though. Shame on you for not finishing them! Your always supposed to finish them even after you feel better. That's how "super germs" are created! Antibiotic resistent.

Antibiotics are also not good for the fishes. In China soma Carp/Perch ponds are spiked with anti-babypills prior to releasing the fish. Apparently it makes the fish grow faster... yummm

I really think that as little as possible should be flushed down the drain. Even with everyday things the water cleaning stations have plenty to clean (also a reason why you do not find garbage disposals in the drain in Europe). Active ingredients of medications can hardly be good for wildlife. You have probably heard of polar bear or crocodile genitals shrinking due to pollutants in the water which then affects their ability to procreate.

So probably the best thing to do is drop the meds off at a drugstore on your way to work.

Wastewater gets only a part of the treatment that drinking water gets. One reason why we sometimes can trace anthropogenic substances in natural water but not in drinking water.

After the sanitation efforts of big pharma in Aargau it's very likely that today the disposing process is much better. There are some companies specialised in this and I assume pharmacies are obliged to dispose of medicines in an appropriate manner.

(You're right about the antibiotics though )

Your Tylenol may be good for the lawn but it certainly won't be good for the birds/earthworms/next doors cat.

That also explains why they found a significant amount of Cocaine in water sampled from the Limmat. I doubt that was cuz it had expired.

See all you men are joking about it, but what about the birth control/HRT that enters the water chain? Bosoms anyone

Just wondering: From one of my last holidays, I still have an unused package of Malarone (malaria prevention). It cost CHF 63 and will expire end of July. Still, I hate to just throw it away, especially as it could be of good use for someone else.
Any suggestions?
I know that one can use certain medication after the expiry date, too, but I don't think that this would be a case where I would rely on that. On the other hand, I cannot imagine that it is perfect until and through 7/31 and then, magically, on 8/1, wooosh! it does not work any more. Any wisdom on that?
Idgie

Expiration dates are set by pharmaceutical companies, based on their internal tests of the longest period of time that a medication is known to be effective. Basically, it is a good indication of when a product should be discarded...

The key question is to know how has the product been stored? Have you kept it at all times at the conditions stated at the label? Was it under direct sunlight, exposed to humidity, frozen, overheated......??? Are the waranty seals open? Although the product may still be within its expiry date, this does not guarantee the effectiveness of a product that has not been stored properly... In certain exceptions, you can use some products for a short time after their expiry date has lapsed, but I would not recommend it without checking with the pharmacist before.

About giving the product away - normally institutions/charities don't accept it because they cannot guarantee the storage conditions nor the quality of the product. In case they do it, they have to re-test it to make sure it is OK for consumption. In Switzerland, i have never heard of a collection point....