My name is Mohamed Shawky; I am the Pharmacy Resident at ratiopharm Canada. As a recap, part of my residency program was to conduct a research project on what Canadians think about environmentally-friendly pharmacy services.

As a Canadian pharmacist, it is overwhelming to see the amount of waste produced in pharmacies every day. Some examples include; the amount of paper used by pharmacies to print information leaflets for patients on their prescribed medications and the number of plastic stock bottles thrown in the garbage every day after medication has been repackaged into smaller vials for patients. This waste can be reduced, hence this survey was conducted.

The Professional Services department at ratiopharm is dedicated in developing programs to help pharmacists work more efficiently. We are proud to be the first generic company to launch reusable pharmacy bags (Medi-bags) for patients’ prescriptions. We are also looking at developing an in-pharmacy program for the collection of empty stock bottles and previously-used patient prescription vials for recycling into other uses. Working toward that end result, it will be interesting to see how many patients will consistently bring back prescription vials to reuse them for their next refill for the same medication, or bring back unused or expired medications to the pharmacy for proper disposal. Prior to implementing such services, we need to know what percentage of the public would be compliant with these types of programs. This survey was conceived and executed to ascertain this data.

This survey gathered consumers’ thoughts about environmentally-friendly pharmacy services. Questions asked covered how they dispose of their prescription vials, expired or unused medications and paper bags and what they would be willing to do in the future, if offered particular services. The participants were limited to people living in Canada, and to avoid bias, excluded pharmacy students, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, since their knowledge of pharmacy practices might influence their opinions. The survey was carried out in both English and French. It was completed by 286 participants by July 22nd 2009.

The results were:

• Five in ten Canadians (50%) recycle the paper bag they get the medication in at home
• The majority of Canadians; (86%) would bring back their reusable shopping bag that is made from recycled materials to use for their next visit in the pharmacy, and 80% would purchase it and the average price is $1.80
• Seven in ten Canadians (73%) agree to return empty plastic prescription bottles to the pharmacy for recycling and (72%) agree to reuse their plastic prescription vials for refills of the same medication
• Eight in ten Canadians (77%) would bring back to the pharmacy unused or expired medications for proper disposal
• Almost six in ten Canadians (56%) are willing to pay for drug disposal service if it helped keep toxic medications out of landfills, and the average price is $1.89 per prescription vial or drug bottle.

The results show that the public is aware and trying to become environmentally responsible when it comes to the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle concept in pharmacy materials. They are willing to pay for shopping bags and reuse them repeatedly. They are willing to recycle vials at the pharmacy since prescription vials may have drug residue which would make it difficult to recycle at home. Most are willing to reuse their empty prescription vials towards their next refill of the same medication. They do not only agree to bring back expired or unused medication to the pharmacy for proper disposal; six in 10 Canadians, in fact, are willing to pay for this service at an average of $1.89 per prescription vial or drug bottle.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who completed this survey and who shared their thoughts. The data collected is extremely important to us. I encourage everyone to always “Think Green” and to be pro-active in preserving our environment. This will not only help us to breathe clean air, but will also protect the planet and keep us healthy.

Environmentally yours,

Mohamed Shawky

Some survey comments that were received are included below:

- I try to be very environmentally conscious but have never considered what happens to my unused prescriptions. I ultimately hate using meds but have had an unfortunate year and required more than I ever thought that I would!! And in consideration of all of the containers and unused portions of medications, I would do whatever I can to ensure that I recycle as wisely as possible. I will start asking my pharmacy.

- I think it’s a great service to be able to drop off unused, expired medications so as to not put anyone in harm’s way if they are unsure as to how to store it or dispose of it. I also believe that recycling the vials/containers could help reduce waste and our demands on the environment. I know I always find uses to reuse containers however I doubt that I am in the majority, perhaps there could be a small deposit taken on the vials that when brought back can be taken off future prescriptions.

- Very interesting survey. All the best in your endeavours to make our medical community greener. Also thank you for the awareness that someone cares.

- Thank you. This survey, at the very least, does a decent job of consciousness rising.