People with statutory health insurance in Germany are being prescribed more and more medication. Compared to 2004, there was an increase of 48.5 percent in 2013. In total, 642 million packs of medication were used for the 70 million members of the statutory health insurance funds. However, very few people know how to dispose of old medication.
Another problem is that our bodies only ever absorb part of the active ingredients in the medicines we swallow. We excrete the rest. As a result, it ends up in the water, damages the animals and plants living there and could end up back on our plates at some point via the food chain - or even reappear in our drinking water.
Traces in drinking water too
According to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), a total of 23 different active substances from pharmaceutical residues were actually found in drinking water in Germany up to 2011. The experts detected traces of 55 pharmaceuticals in groundwater. Sewage treatment plants are generally not designed to remove such substances. The Federal Environment Agency does not see any long-term risk to human health "based on current knowledge". Nevertheless, for precautionary reasons, water pollution must be kept as low as possible.
We should therefore not exacerbate the situation by disposing of old medicines incorrectly. However, according to a study by the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), almost half (47%) of all respondents pour surplus liquid medication down the toilet or sink - and as a result further pollute the water!
Disposing of old medication: Put it in the residual waste garbage can!
And what's the right way? Remove the tablets from the packaging and then dispose of them with the residual waste. Liquid medication should be disposed of in the residual waste garbage can in a bottle or ampoule. Both apply whenever the residual waste is incinerated (depends on the federal state and/or municipality). All active pharmaceutical ingredients are destroyed in the process. The flue gas cleaning system also ensures that nothing is released into the environment. Where residual waste is not incinerated, old medicines can be disposed of at the local authorities via the hazardous waste or recyclables collection. Many pharmacies also still accept old medicines. However, they no longer have to do so since 2009. Pharmaceutical packaging made of paper belongs in the waste paper, plastic packaging in the yellow garbage can.