GHA launches DUMP Campaign for safe medicines disposal

The GHA is launching a second campaign calling on the public to dispose of unused medicines properly.

This follows the successful DUMP Campaign in October 2022 when 267kg of medicines valued at £40,000.00 were collected.

DUMP is a free collection service for the disposal of medicines which will be available in all community pharmacies, the Primary Care Centre and St Bernard’s Hospital from September 12 to 25.

Members of the public are urged to take their unused and unwanted medicines to these locations to be disposed of correctly.

It is important that medicines are disposed of correctly. In addition to the cost to the GHA of unused medicines, disposing of medicines in the rubbish bin means that children or pets could access them. Flushing medicine down the sink or toilet will result in medicine residues entering our environment, thus this needs to be avoided.

The Chief Pharmacist, Melanie Gordon, said: “I strongly urge people to take this opportunity to get rid of out of date or unused medicines as these can pose a hazard at home especially to children and vulnerable adults.”

“Please check all the dates on the medicine packages and remove anything that is expired by disposing of them in the special green bins located in all our community pharmacies, St Bernard’s Hospital and the Primary Care Centre.”

GHA Director General, Professor Patrick Geoghegan OBE, said: “I encourage people to get involved in this year’s DUMP campaign. Whilst we are looking to dispose of medicines safely, we are also looking to assess and understand any trends in respect of waste.”

“This will enable us to continue to look at how we can improve efficiency and reduce waste in the interests of the taxpayer.”