Too often people throw medicines in the rubbish or even down the drain. Whether they are left over, no longer needed or expired, many people still throw them away. They probably don’t know that it harms the environment and there is a very simple way to get rid of them which doesn’t.

In Spain there is a system for collecting and environmental management of medicines and packaging called “SIGRE”. The principle is very simple, just put everything you have left over or that is not usable in a bag and take it to a chemist. They usually all have a specific container with the initials “SIGRE” on it where you can deposit your waste, they call it “the SIGRE point”. If it is not visible, simply hand your bag over at the counter. In it you can put the leftover or expired medicines and everything that goes with them: blister packs (even if empty), instruction leaflets and boxes. The next time you go to the chemist, take them with you.

Get into the habit of keeping empty blister packs at home and then taking them to the chemist. They contain a considerable amount of chemical waste! Accessories such as syringes, thermometers, gauze, x-rays, batteries, etc. cannot be deposited at the SIGRE point.

In Spain, a little more than 100 grams of medicines and packaging is collected per inhabitant every year. That amounts to around 50,000 tons per year, of which 70% can be treated optimally. The SIGRE entity was created to guarantee the management of this type of waste. It also works from the ground up, designing increasingly less polluting and more easily recyclable packaging.

SIGRE is part of a chain that works to better the environment. We are the first link in this recycling chain. It is important that we play our part for it to work. If we think it is important and convenient to take care of ourselves, let us do the same with our planet. So let’s all check our medicine cabinet! It is advisable to check it every 6 months.

More information can be found in the leaflets of your medicines and also at https://www.sigre.es/en/