The Beijing News reporter recently visited a number of neighborhoods in Beijing to learn that the family expired medicine has been included in the "National Hazardous Waste List". However, due to the fact that some communities have not set up hazardous waste bins, the distribution of expired drugs recycling box uneven, residents do not understand the formal recycling channels and other reasons, many residents will be the expiration date of the drug randomly discarded, the formation of pollution hazards.
In this regard, the expert Wang Weiping tips, expired drugs can not be thrown into the food waste garbage cans, otherwise it may flow into the natural environment causing pollution. The Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Beijing Fengtai Hospital, vice president of Han Xiujuan suggested that hospitals and residential neighborhoods can set up independent recycling boxes of expired drugs, residents should also reduce the "hoarding" behavior, from the source to reduce the generation of expired drugs.
Visit 1 residential area
Expired drugs are discarded
Recently, Ms. Wang thoroughly sorted out the medicine box found that the whole family used a large number of medicines have expired, "some drugs even two years after the expiration date." Ms. Wang will be expired medicine all thrown into the home of the trash can, on second thought, unopened drugs if the flow to the hands of drug dealers "refurbished" and then enter the market on the bad. So, she cut open the punch bag, to the oral liquid bottle insert straw, the capsule a grain from the tin foil packaging keyed out ...... busy half a day, and then all the bulk expired drugs together with the waste cardboard box into the neighborhood trash can.
"Patients in the course of treatment to restore health after the drugs slightly remaining, was discarded until the expiration date of the situation is very common." Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) member Han Xiujuan, vice president of the Beijing Fengtai Hospital, said that over-the-counter drugs accounted for a relatively large proportion of personal expired drugs. According to projections by relevant sources, expired drugs can reach 215 million capsules per million households. "Whether urban or rural, abandoned drugs mainly into the landfill, and waste recycling and disposal system is not sound, there is still no special recycling and disposal management system and technical specifications for personal expired drugs, especially in rural areas is more sloppy." Han Xiujuan said.
At present, Beijing's domestic waste is divided into recyclable waste, food waste, other waste and hazardous waste four categories, corresponding to blue, green, gray and red trash cans. However, some streets (towns and villages) have not yet carried out waste classification work, and many communities have not set up red garbage cans for hazardous waste such as waste medicines, cosmetics, long thin lamps, and waste cell phones.
Visiting 2 neighborhood committees
No one recycling neighborhood committee medicine box "disappeared"
Some neighborhoods do not have red hazardous waste garbage cans, how to deal with expired medicines in the residents' homes? The reporter learned that some districts in Beijing in the community committee set up expired medicine recycling box, but residents in the Internet can not query the recycling points, and even some of the Food and Drug Administration does not grasp the point of information.
Dongcheng District, East Flower City Food and Drug Institute staff said they are not clear which community has expired drug recovery box. "We commissioned a company to collect drugs, the company said that some communities have expired drug boxes, the specific which I am not clear." Auntie Li, who lives in Dongcheng District, said that if there is no expired drug recovery box near her home, she is too lazy to bring expired drugs from community to community to inquire about, usually directly thrown away.
The online recycling points can be found on the Internet, but there are also cases of "no longer accepting medicines", "the box is full" and so on.
A staff member of the neighborhood committee of Green Island Court, a community of Dingxi Ri, said, "Our expired drug recovery box here is full, no one has been collecting expired medicines for a long time, that is, the medicines sent to be stuffed in." Nanhu Zhongyuan community, Jiandongyuan community and other neighborhood committees said that the neighborhood committee has long been no expired drug collection box, docking company has not come to collect drugs for a long time. A community worker suggested that you can throw your medicine in the medical waste bin when you go to the hospital. But a specialized medical waste treatment of environmental companies told reporters that medical waste, including used needles, syringes, swabs with blood gauze, etc., do not recommend to throw the expired drugs.
In addition, some communities will occasionally organize "recycling expired drugs" activities, can not form a normalized. In Xicheng District, Xibianmen Xili community last year to carry out the recycling of expired drugs, but this year there is no such activity.
Visiting 3 hospitals and pharmacies
Few expired medicine recycling boxes
Expired household medicines have been included in the National Hazardous Waste List, and throwing away expired medicines can be harmful to the environment. So where are the authoritative channels to recycle expired drugs? Some residents believe that hospitals and pharmacies may have "expired drugs recycling box".
The reporter called Chaoyang Hospital, Dongzhimen Hospital, Xuanwu Hospital, Anzhen Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Tiantan Hospital, Beimedian Hospital's consulting phone or pharmacy phone, asking whether the hospital has an expired drug collection box, the answer is "not set up", "not seen! The answer was "no" and "I have never seen it". Xuanwu Hospital, a staff member of the Western Pharmacy, said residents can put the drugs in a plastic bag, tied mouth thrown into the trash, liquid medicine can be poured into the sink, flushed away with water.
In the community health centers, "expired drug recovery box" there is a small amount and uneven distribution of the problem, Fangzhuang Fangcheng Dongli Health Station, Dingfuzhuang Xili Community Health Service Station, etc. said that there is no expired drug recovery box. Changying Community Health Service Center, placed on the first floor of the living garbage cans and medical waste special barrels, "previously set up expired drug recycling boxes, but due to the low rate of awareness of the residents, and now there is no longer." Staff said.
■ Experts
It is recommended that residential neighborhoods set up recycling bins for expired drugs
Wang Weiping, an expert in garbage countermeasures, said that the flow of expired medicines into the environment can be harmful. "Western medicines are chemicals, containing antibiotics, hormones, etc., into the soil will produce pollution, and easy to be absorbed by plants, dissolved into the water will pollute the water body. Chinese medicine also has medicinal properties, into the soil and water bodies will also cause pollution."
Han Xiu Juan introduction, the World Health Organization in 1999 introduced the world's first expired drug guidance document, the relevant work in the Western countries have been better practice. For example, the Australian federal government has launched a "National Waste Drugs Recycling Program," and expired drugs can be recycled free of charge at any pharmacy; Article 127B of the EU Directive 2004/27/EC states that all member states should establish a recycling mechanism for expired drugs; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency encourages every family to participate in a local hazardous waste recycling program, and to dispose of their waste. The EPA encourages every family to participate in the local hazardous waste recycling program and to dispose of expired medicines.
In this regard, Han Xiu Juan suggested the establishment of a pharmacy entity recycling alliance, the hospitals and residential neighborhoods to set up an independent expired drug recycling box, "the most important thing is to guide the doctor to rationalize the prescription of medication, the residents also need to change the habit of 'hoarding drugs', to reduce the generation of expired drugs from the source. "
No hazardous waste garbage cans, and no drug recycling boxes in the neighborhood, how do residents deal with expired drugs? Wang Weiping pointed out that expired drugs can never be thrown into the food waste bins, because food waste is mostly used for composting, the future will still return to the soil. Expired drugs have no recycling value and should not be put into the recyclable bin. If the neighborhood does not have red hazardous waste bins or expired medicine recycling box, residents can put the expired medicine into the "other garbage cans", where most of the garbage will enter the incineration plant.
The relevant person in charge of the State Drug Administration said that in recent years, there are often government departments, pharmaceutical companies and retail pharmacies to carry out public welfare activities for the recovery of family expired drugs, it is recommended that the expired drugs will be sent to these recycling points to deal with. If you dispose of them on your own, you should tear up the boxes to prevent children from picking them up or others from using them indiscriminately. For some oral tablets, capsules, granules and other solid medicines, do not throw away the whole bottle or box, it is recommended to take the medicine out of the package and mix it with household garbage for disposal. For oral liquid, eye drops and other liquid medicines, you can squeeze out the liquid and mix it into the household garbage.