Practices of Jeddah Residents Regarding the Disposal of Unused and Expired Medications: A Community-Based Survey

Inappropriate disposal of stored medications leads to an increased risk of environmental toxicity. This study aims to examine practices of Jeddah residents with regard to disposing unused and/or expired medications and to view their opinions about the presence of drug take-back centres. Over a three-month period, 771 participants completed an online questionnaire, that focused on disposal methods and the importance of having drug retrieval centres. The data demonstrated that 91.57% of the participants reported discarding their expired medications in household waste, and 2.98% of them return their medications to hospitals or pharmacies. With respect to unused medications, 67.07% of the participants disposed of them in household waste, and only 10.84% donated their medications. This improper practice, however, contradicted the fact that 92.35% of the respondents were interested in knowing the appropriate methods of disposing. In addition, 90.66% agreed to the need for drug take-back centres. This study demonstrated that a low percentage of respondents knew about correct medication disposal. This emphasizes the need for the Ministry of Health, the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacies to collaborate on a national program about the proper methods of medication disposal and to initiate drug retrieval programs.