Dias-Ferreira C, et al. Waste Manag Res. 2016.
Authors
Dias-Ferreira C1, Valente S2, Vaz J3.
Author information
1Research Centre for Natural Resources, Environment and Society, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Materials and Ceramic Engineering Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal celia@esac.pt.2Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal CE3C – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL), Portugal.3ECOGESTUS, Figueira da Foz, Portugal.
Citation
Waste Manag Res. 2016 Oct;34(10):1006-1013. Epub 2016 Mar 29.
Abstract
This work is the first nationwide study in Portugal on pharmaceutical waste generated at households, exploring people’s attitudes and risk perception. The waste audit was carried out from September to November 2014, targeting pharmaceutical products kept by a sample of families (n = 244). This campaign was an assignment of VALORMED, the non-profit association that manages waste and packaging from expired and unused pharmaceutical products collected by the pharmacies. On average, each household kept at home 1097 g of pharmaceutical products, of which 20% were in use, 72% were not in use, and 8% were mostly expired products ready to discard. Face-to-face interviews with householders showed that 69% of the respondents claimed to return pharmaceutical waste to the local pharmacy. However, this figure is overrated, probably owing to a possible ‘good answer’ effect. The barriers identified to proper disposal were mainly established routines and lack of close disposal points. This study also provides an insight into Portuguese awareness and daily practices concerning pharmaceutical waste, which is the cornerstone of any future strategy to reduce the release of active pharmaceutical ingredients into ecosystems.© The Author(s) 2016.
PMID
27026517 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
