World Environment Day is celebrated every 5 June; it is the United Nations’ main event for raising public awareness of the need to protect the planet. In 2026, this commemoration focuses on climate change and the urgent need to strengthen collective action to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable models of production and consumption.

In this context, SIGRE joins this call by reminding us that caring for the environment also begins with everyday actions that are close to home and within everyone’s reach, such as regularly checking the home medicine cabinet and disposing of empty or partially used medicine containers at the SIGRE collection point in the pharmacy.

This simple habit helps to properly close the life cycle of medicines, preventing this waste from ending up in the bin or down the drain, where it could contaminate soil, rivers or seas. At the same time, it allows materials from the packaging to be recovered for recycling and helps us move towards a more circular, efficient and low-emission economy.

“To mark World Environment Day, SIGRE is encouraging everyone to join the climate action movement through a simple gesture such as taking their medicine waste to the SIGRE collection point at their local pharmacy. Because protecting the climate and looking after our health are inseparable goals,” said Miguel Vega, SIGRE’s managing director.

From the home medicine cabinet to climate action

SIGRE reminds us that climate action does not depend solely on major institutional or corporate decisions. It is also built through responsible habits in the home.

It therefore recommends checking the home medicine cabinet every six months and taking expired medicines, leftover treatments and empty or partially used containers to the SIGRE Point.

Currently, three out of four Spanish households already recycle medicines, and 99% of the population has at least one SIGRE Point in their municipality.

According to the latest annual data from SIGRE, 5,400 tonnes of empty containers or those containing traces of medicines were collected via SIGRE collection points in 2025, representing a 5.16% increase on the previous year.

Since it began operating 25 years ago, SIGRE has helped prevent the emission of 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere, as well as the felling of 246,000 trees, and the consumption of 460 million litres of water, 485 million kWh of energy and 80 million litres of oil.

A model that reduces emissions through its own operations

One of SIGRE’s main environmental strengths is its reverse logistics system, which utilises existing pharmaceutical distribution routes to collect waste deposited by the public at SIGRE Points during any of their daily visits to the pharmacy to collect new medicines. Thanks to this logistics model, SIGRE prevents the emission of 1,400 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere every year, contributing directly to the fight against climate change.

The waste is then transported to the Packaging and Medicinal Waste Sorting Plant, located in the Valladolid municipality of Tudela de Duero. At this facility, the use of artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced sorting systems enables a very significant proportion of the materials from the collected packaging to be recovered for recycling, up to 74.93% by 2025.

Medicine residues and packaging that cannot be recycled are sent for energy recovery, thereby preventing their improper disposal and helping to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

In addition to ensuring the correct collection and treatment of medicine waste and its packaging, SIGRE works with the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the environmental impact of packaging right from the design stage. Since 2000, pharmaceutical companies have implemented more than 3,500 eco-design initiatives, resulting in a reduction of more than 25% in the average weight of pharmaceutical packaging. Currently, around 500 million units of medicines sold each year — one in three medicines placed on the market — incorporate some form of environmental improvement in their packaging.