What to take and where to take it

If you have expired or no longer needed medicines or empty medicine containers in your medicine cabinet at home, you should deposit them at the Punto SIGRE your nearest pharmacy. Currently, we have more than 22,100 pharmacies that collaborate with us and help ensure that the life cycle of the medicine closes correctly.

What do you have to bring to SIGRE?

  • Expired medicines
  • Medicines you don't need
  • Boxes of medicines
  • Empty containers

What do you NOT have to deposit?

  • Needles
  • Thermometers
  • Gauze
  • Chemicals
  • X-rays
  • Batteries
  • Masks
  • Test COVID-19 and flu

Why colaborate

We all, at some point, need to use a medicine to prevent or treat a disease or to improve our quality of life. However, if we do not use it properly, it could have negative consequences for our health and for the environment.

That is why it is very important to correctly close the life cycle of medicines and their packaging, which ends when their waste is deposited at the Punto SIGRE.

With this gesture you will help to ensure the correct environmental treatment of this waste, protect our environment and take care of your health.

Environmental benefits

  • It prevents the remains of medicines from reaching the environment, protecting the fauna and flora of our planet.
  • It facilitates the recycling of packaging materials (cardboard, glass, plastic, etc.), avoiding the felling of trees.
  • It contributes to the generation of electricity by recovering energy from the remains of medicines, thus reducing the consumption of fossil fuels.
  • Thanks to reverse logistics, the emission of around 1,400 tonnes of CO2 is saved each year.

Health benefits

  • It avoids the accumulation of medicines in the home medicine cabinet. In this way, you reduce the risk of inappropriate self-medication, as well as the use of medicines that are out of date or in poor condition.
  • Healthy health habits are encouraged, such as complying with the treatments prescribed by health professionals or the regular review of the medicine cabinet.

Together we can all do our bit for a more sustainable world.

How to recycle medicines and their packaging

  • After checking your medicine cabinet or completing the treatment prescribed by your doctor, be sure to remove any medicines that you no longer need, that have expired or that are in a poor state of preservation. Take them to the Punto SIGRE in their packaging and with their box and leaflet.
  • When you finish the medicine, deposit the empty containers (bottles, blister, tubes...) and the boxes together with the package leaflet at the Punto SIGRE.

What is done with them

Once you have deposited the empty or leftover medicine containers at the Punto SIGRE, through reverse logistics, pharmaceutical distribution takes advantage of the distribution of new medicines to pharmacies to collect the waste deposited at the Punto SIGRE and stores them in their facilities. From there, authorised managers take them to the Packaging and Pharmaceutical Waste Sorting Plant.

This sorting plant, located in Tudela de Duero (Valladolid), is a pioneering facility worldwide where the waste goes through different stages to separate the packaging and the remains of the medicines it contains.

This is an automated process in which complete traceability is guaranteed. In addition, numerous technological innovations have been incorporated into the waste sorting process, making it possible to subsequently recycle the packaging materials (paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metals, etc.) and to harness the energy contained in the medicine residues, using them as fuel in industrial plants.

All leftover medicines are destroyed, as according to current regulations and the instructions of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) on medicine donations, it is prohibited to use this waste for new patients, both in our country and in other countries, due to the health risk involved in their reuse.

Check your medicine cabinet

We all have a medicine cabinet at home and checking it is a very important task that you should do every 6 or 12 months. All those medicines that have expired, are no longer in use or are in poor condition, or even medicines that you have not stored correctly due to temperature or light requirements, should be taken to the Punto SIGRE along with their box and leaflet. In this way, you will help take care of your health and the environment.

But do you really know how to properly check your medicine cabinet, what it should contain and where to place it?

HOW TO CHECK THE MEDICINE CABINET

It is important to keep medicines in their original package leaflet and packaging. This will provide you with the necessary information, such as the expiry date and storage conditions, which will make it easier for you to check them.

You should also keep empty containers (bottles, blister, aerosols, ampoules, etc.) and cardboard boxes in the medicine cabinet, as you finish the medicines to take them to the Punto SIGRE. This is very important because the containers always contain traces of the medicine and, in addition, they help us to carry out a better classification for their proper environmental management.

Never store leftover doses of treatments prescribed by the doctor in the medicine cabinet. These should also be taken in their containers to the Punto SIGRE of the pharmacy at the end of the treatment, thus avoiding the risk of inappropriate self-medication with the consequences that this can have, such as antimicrobial resistance.

If you have any doubts, you can always go to your pharmacist, who will advise you on how to manage your medicine cabinet properly.

WHAT IT SHOULD CONTAIN

  1. Curative material

    Cotton wool, sterile gauze, plasters, bandages, adhesive tape, surgical sutures, rubber band, antiseptic and disinfectant. Also, scissors, tweezers and a thermometer.

  2. Medicines

    Drugs for minor ailments such as painkillers, antipyretics, insect bite products, anti-inflammatories and ointments for burns. Also those prescribed for the illnesses of family members. Remember to follow your doctor's or pharmacist's instructions when starting treatment.

  3. Emergency telephone numbers

    On the outside of the medicine cabinet it is useful to have the necessary telephone numbers in case of emergency: health centre, medical directory, ambulance and National Poisons Centre.

WHERE TO LOCATE IT

Your medicine cabinet should, above all, be in a cool, dry place, so avoid the bathroom and the kitchen as these are spaces that generate more humidity and sudden changes in temperature. Keep it in a place where light does not shine directly on the medicines and make sure it is out of the reach of children.

Also, take into account the storage conditions of each medicine, as they may require a certain temperature or have limited effectiveness once the container has been opened. Always keep them in their original box and package leaflet, so that you can always check the expiry date or the recommended dose.

We solve your doubts

What should be deposited at the Punto SIGRE?

Medicines that have expired or that are no longer needed, in their packaging and with their box and leaflet. It is also necessary to deposit the containers at the end of a medicine even if they are empty (blister packs, tubes, bottles...).

Do the medicine containers have to be emptied to take them to the Punto SIGRE

No. The remains of medicines that have been left in the packaging should never be removed. They must be deposited at the Punto SIGRE in their packaging, and always with their outer box and the package leaflet.

Why should the box and the package leaflet be deposited?

The box makes it easier to identify the type of medicine it contains, since depending on the type of medicine it contains, it will be given one type of environmental treatment or another. The package leaflet is part of the medicine and should be recycled.

How do I know which medicines I should deposit in the Punto SIGRE?

All medicines, as well as their empty containers, must go to the Punto SIGRE.

In addition, you will be able to identify them as they have the SIGRE Symbol on the packaging and a legend on the package leaflet.

What does the SIGRE Symbol mean and why does it appear on medicine boxes?

It indicates that the manufacturing laboratory is a member of SIGRE and that the waste generated from its medicines must be deposited at the Punto SIGRE so that they receive appropriate environmental treatment.

Can I deposit the medicines directly in the container or do I have to give them to the pharmacist?

The Punto SIGRE must be available to citizens, so that they can deposit the waste directly. Failing that, give them to the pharmacist.

In addition to pharmacies, are there Puntos SIGRE in other places such as, for example, Puntos Limpios, clinics,...?

No, for safety and public health reasons, medicine waste must be collected exclusively through pharmacies.

Can needles and sharps be deposited at the Punto SIGRE?

No. Check with your municipality to see if there is a specific collection point for this type of waste. Exceptionally, needles that are attached to the medicine container and cannot be separated from it (for example, pre-filled insulin syringes) can be deposited at the Punto SIGRE, but only if these needles are capped or properly protected with their cap or protective device.

Can I deposit parapharmacy products at the Punto SIGRE?

In general, no. Only some parapharmacy products similar in form and presentation to a medicine that are identified with the SIGRE Symbol on the packaging are accepted.

Can X-rays, thermometers, glasses be thrown away at the Punto SIGRE?

No. These wastes must be deposited in the municipal Ecoparques or Puntos Limpios.

And what about healing materials such as gauze, plasters...?

These types of materials should be deposited in the grey bin.

Why is it important not to keep medicines in the medicine cabinet at home?

To prevent accidents due to the consumption of spoiled or expired medicines and to avoid inappropriate self-medication. Learn more about your medicine cabinet here

Why shouldn't leftover medicines be thrown away in the trash or down the drain?

Medicines can pollute our soil and water if they are mixed with household waste or flushed down the drain.

Can medicines returned by citizens to the Punto SIGRE be used as donations?

No. By law and following the instructions of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products on medicine donations, it is forbidden to use these waste medicines for new patients (whether in the country itself or in other countries) due to the health risk that their reuse entails.

Does SIGRE obtain economic benefits from what is collected?

No, since by law we are a non-profit organisation. In addition, the collection and management of medicine packaging and waste generates costs, but not profits. These costs are covered by the pharmaceutical companies, who pay a fee for each package that is marketed through pharmacies.

No. According to Spain health regulations, waste medicines deposited at the Punto SIGRE cannot under any circumstances be used for donations, and it is also forbidden to dispense, sell or market any medicine that is returned or handed in by patients or the general public to pharmacies.

For more information, we invite you to visit our blog: https://www.blogsigre.es/2022/03/10/medicamentos-procedentes-domicilios-particulares-no-se-pueden-donar/