Sorting
Examples of medical waste include
- unused medications;
- mercury thermometers; and
- needles and syringes.
Medical waste should primarily be returned to pharmacies.
Instructions for reception at pharmacies
- Remove patient information.
- Pills in blister packs in their original packaging without the carton wrapper.
- Loose pills and other solid medical waste in a transparent bag.
- Creams and liquid medications in their own packaging.
- Iodine-containing medications (Jodix, Betadine, Iodosorb) separate from other medical waste, in their own packaging.
- Mercury thermometers separately, broken meters in sealed packaging.
- Syringes and needles packed in impermeable collection containers, such as a plastic canister or glass jar.
- Return to a pharmacy during normal opening hours, not on-call hours.
