A CAMPAIGN encouraging people in Cork and Kerry to safely dispose of unused or out-of-date medicines has seen more than 3.5 tonnes of medicines collected in participating pharmacies.
More than 260 bins of medicines were safely disposed of as part of the free “Dispose of Unused Medicines Properly” (Dump) campaign which was organised by the HSE South and the community pharmacists in Cork and Kerry and supported by Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Kerry County Council and the Regional Waste Management Office.
In Cork, the 2009 campaign saw more than 2,668.20kg of unused or out-of-date medicines deposited in special collection bins placed in participating pharmacies. This compared with 1,594.20kg collected during the 2007 campaign.
In Kerry, the 2009 campaign saw more than 914kg of medicines collected compared with 395.60kg in 2007.
Louise Creed, community pharmacist, HSE South, described the results of the campaign as encouraging.
“This campaign not only gave people the opportunity to get rid of out-of-date or unused medicines but it has also raised the public’s awareness of how excess medicines in the home can pose a hazard, particularly to children or other vulnerable people.
“As well as the hazards posed by overdose, accidental poisoning and damage to the environment, medicines can change when out of date and may end up being harmful to those who take them.”
The Dump campaign began on January 26th and finished on March 8th. More than 200 pharmacies throughout Cork and Kerry participated.