The Beijing News reporter recently visited several communities in Beijing and learned that family expired drugs have been included in the national hazardous waste list. However, due to the lack of dangerous trash cans in some communities, uneven distribution of expired drug recycling boxes, and residents' lack of understanding of formal recycling channels, many residents throw out expired drugs at will, causing pollution hazards.
In this regard, expert Wang Weiping suggested that expired drugs should not be thrown into the kitchen waste bin, otherwise it may flow into the natural environment and cause pollution. Han Xiujuan, member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of Beijing Fengtai Hospital, suggested that hospitals and residential areas should set up independent recycling bins for expired drugs, and residents should also reduce the "hoarding" behavior and reduce the generation of expired drugs from the source.
Visit 1 residential area
Expired drugs are discarded at will.
Recently, when Ms. Wang thoroughly sorted out the medicine box, she found that many medicines used by the whole family had expired. "Some medicines are even two years overdue." Ms. Wang threw all the expired medicines into the trash can at home. On second thought, if unopened drugs flow to drug dealers for "renovation" and then flow into the market, it will be bad. So, she cut the particle bag open, inserted a straw into the oral liquid bottle, and pulled the capsule out of the tin foil package ... After a busy day, she put all the bulk expired drugs together with the waste paper box into the trash can in the community.
"It is very common that patients recover after the end of the course of treatment, and the medicine is slightly left until it expires." Han Xiujuan, member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of Beijing Fengtai Hospital, said that over-the-counter drugs account for a large proportion of expired drugs. According to the calculation of relevant people, the number of expired drugs per million families can reach 2150,000. "No matter in urban or rural areas, waste drugs mainly enter garbage dumps, and the garbage recycling system is not perfect. Individual expired drugs, especially those in rural areas, still have no special recycling management system and technical specifications. " Han Xiujuan said.
At present, Beijing's domestic garbage is divided into recyclable garbage, kitchen garbage, other garbage and harmful waste, which correspond to blue, green, gray and red trash cans respectively. However, some streets (towns and villages) have not yet carried out garbage sorting work, and many communities have not set up red trash bins for placing harmful waste such as waste medicines, cosmetics, slender lamps and waste mobile phones.
Visit two community neighborhood committees
Unmanned recycling community medicine box "missing"
Some communities don't have red trash cans. How to deal with expired drugs in residents' homes? The reporter learned that at present, some districts in Beijing have set up expired drug recycling boxes in community neighborhood committees, but residents can't check the recycling points online, and even some food and drug clinics don't know the information.
The staff of the US Food and Drug Administration in Donghua City, Dongcheng District, said that it was not sure which community had an expired drug recycling box. "We commissioned a company to collect medicines. The company said that some communities have expired medicine boxes. I don't know which one. " Aunt Li, who lives in Dongcheng District, said that if there is no recycling box for expired drugs near her home, she is too lazy to inquire around the community with expired drugs, and usually throws them away directly.
The collection points that can be found online are also "no medicine" and "the medicine box is full".
A staff member of the Lvdaoyuan Community Neighborhood Committee of Dingxi Beili Community said, "Our expired medicine recycling box here is full, and no one has collected expired medicine for a long time. Even if the medicine comes, it can't be stuffed in. " Many neighborhood committees, such as Nanhu Zhongyuan Community and Jiandongyuan Community, said that the neighborhood committees have not had expired drug recycling boxes for a long time, and the docking company has not come to collect drugs for a long time. A community worker suggested that you can throw the medicine in the medical waste box when you go to the hospital. However, the person in charge of an environmental protection company specializing in medical waste told reporters that medical waste includes used needles, needles and cotton swabs with blood. It is not recommended to throw expired drugs in.
In addition, some communities occasionally hold "recycling expired drugs" activities, which cannot be normalized. Xili Community in Xibianmen, Xicheng District launched the activity of recycling expired drugs last year, but there is no such activity this year.
Visit 3 hospitals and pharmacies
There are few recycling boxes for expired drugs.
Family expired drugs have been listed in the national hazardous waste list, and discarding expired drugs at will may cause harm to the environment. So, where is the authoritative channel for recycling expired drugs? Some residents think that hospitals and pharmacies may have "expired drug recycling boxes".
The reporter called Chaoyang Hospital, Dongzhimen Hospital, xuanwu hospital, anzhen hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Tiantan Hospital and the Third Hospital of Beijing Medical University to ask if there were any expired drug recycling boxes in the hospitals, and the answers were "No setting" and "Never seen". A staff member of xuanwu hospital Western Pharmacy said that residents can put the medicine in plastic bags, tie their mouths and throw it into the garbage bin, while the medicine can be poured into the pool and washed away with clear water.
However, in community health centers, the number of "expired drug recycling boxes" is small and unevenly distributed. Fangzhuang Fangcheng Dongli Health Station and dingfuzhuang Xili Community Health Service Station all indicated that there were no expired drug recycling boxes. On the first floor of Chang Ying Community Health Service Center, there are garbage bins and special buckets for medical wastes. "There used to be an expired drug recycling box, but because of the low awareness rate of residents, it is gone now." The staff said.
■ experts
It is suggested to set up expired drug recycling boxes in residential areas.
Wang Weiping, an expert on garbage countermeasures, said that expired drugs will cause harm if they flow into the environment. "Western medicine is a chemical that contains antibiotics and hormones. Entering the soil will cause pollution and be easily absorbed by plants. Dissolving in water will pollute the water body. Chinese medicine is also medicinal, and it will also cause pollution when it enters soil and water. "
Han Xiujuan introduced that the World Health Organization issued the first guidance document on expired drugs in the world on 1999, and the related work has been well practiced in western countries. For example, the Australian federal government launched the "National Waste Drug Recycling Program", and expired drugs can be recycled free of charge at any pharmacy; Article 127b of EU Directive 2004/27/EC stipulates that each member state shall establish a mechanism for the recovery of expired drugs; The EPA encourages every family to participate in local hazardous waste recycling projects and dispose of expired drugs.
In this regard, Han Xiujuan suggested setting up a pharmacy entity recycling alliance, and setting up independent expired drug recycling boxes in hospitals and residential areas. "The most important thing is to guide doctors to use drugs rationally, and residents should also change the habit of' hoarding drugs' and reduce the generation of expired drugs from the source."
What should residents do with expired drugs in communities without dangerous garbage bins and drug recycling bins? Wang Weiping pointed out that expired medicines should never be thrown into the kitchen waste bin, because most of the kitchen waste is used for composting and will return to the soil in the future. Expired drugs have no recycling value and should not be put into recyclable boxes. If there are no red hazardous garbage bins or expired drug recycling bins in the community, residents can put expired drugs into "other garbage bins", and most of the garbage here will go to the incineration plant for treatment.
The relevant person in charge of the State Administration of Pharmaceutical Products said that in recent years, government departments, pharmaceutical companies and retail pharmacies have often carried out public welfare activities to recycle family expired drugs. It is suggested that expired drugs be sent to these collection points for treatment. If you handle it yourself, tear up the box to prevent children from picking it up or using it. For some oral tablets, capsules, granules and other solid drugs, do not throw away the whole bottle or box. It is suggested to take the medicine out of the package and mix it with domestic garbage. For liquid drugs such as oral liquid and eye drops, the liquid can be extruded and mixed with domestic garbage for treatment.