Returning unused or expired medicines

Pharmacies are the safest, most environmentally-friendly places to bring unwanted, unused or expired medicines.

Flushing medicines down the toilet pollutes our waterways. Throwing medicines in with household rubbish pollutes our land.

Pharmacists properly dispose of medicines at no cost to you. Pharmacies accept medicines in any condition.

Until you can return medicines to a pharmacy:

• read the labels on your medicines
• check the expiry dates
• remove unused or expired medicines and store them securely.

Check Healthpoint to find the pharmacy closest to you and their opening hours.

Pharmacy – Healthpoint (external link)

You can return any kind of medicine, including:

• prescriptions
• over-the-counter pain relief
• pet medications
• home remedies
• vitamins.

Medicines can be housed in any form of packaging, such as:

• blister packs
• bottles
• cardboard cartons of tablets or capsules
• inhalers
• creams
• lotions
• drops.

Pharmacists accept medicines purchased from:

• pharmacies
• supermarkets
• health food stores
• overseas.

If you can, ask the permission of the person who the medicines belong to.

If the medicine is something that they should be taking regularly, ask them to discuss with their healthcare provider or pharmacist.

If the medicines belong to someone who has died, it is important to return their unused medicines to a pharmacy. These medicines can be dangerous if someone else was to take them. Medicines are prescribed for a named person and do not belong to the next of kin. If the person has died, return all of their medicines for safe disposal. If you find sorting out their medicines difficult ask a healthcare provider for help.

When medicines are dropped off, the pharmacist will need to check what types they are. Legally some medicines need to be recorded in a register before they are destroyed.

Pharmacists need to go through the medicines returned to identify and separate controlled drugs, such as morphine. These are recorded for destruction, stored safely and their destruction witnessed.

Returned controlled drugs are made non-recoverable for disposal (ground up or dissolved in water and mixed with cat litter or gel to make a paste).

You can return medicines anonymously if you would prefer.

Use a sealed bag, and remove or cross out your name on the labels.

It is important that you do not put sharp items such as needles, syringes, or finger prickers in with your medicines when you return them to a pharmacy. We have to be careful with used needles so that people do not get needles stick injuries and spread diseases.

Anything with needles (sharps) need to be in the appropriate disposal container. Tell the pharmacy if you have any of these to return, before you take them to the pharmacy if possible. They can give you a container to put them in and seal up, and a spare to take home for next time.

If you have insulin pens, syringes, needles, or finger prickers because you are diabetic, return these to your diabetes healthcare provider.

If you are an injecting drug user, return your needles to a needle exchange outlet.

New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme (internal link)

The easiest way to help avoid accumulating medicines is to:

• only order what you need
• only take what has been prescribed for you
• return any unused medicines to a pharmacy for safe disposal.

It is good to let your healthcare provider and pharmacist know if you have decided not to take a medicine that has prescribed for you. They will talk to you to understand your preferences and reasons to provide the best health care possible.

How to take medicines (internal link)

Tell your pharmacist if you are no longer taking medication so the do not keep dispensing every month.

Check the expiry dates of your non-prescription medicines and home remedies and only purchase what you need.