Generales

By Andrea Carolina Vargas Malagón, Journalist at UdeA Communications Office 

Are you unsure how to dispose of expired or leftover medications? Tossing them in the trash or flushing them down the drain isn’t safe. These drugs qualify as hazardous waste, and improper disposal can endanger health and the environment.  

 
The Punto Azul initiative has over 2,000 collection points in Colombia for proper medication disposal. / Photo: Andrea Vargas 

Many homes have a spot where unused medications pile up, kept just in case they’re needed later. But over time, this turns into a mix of expired pills, syrups, drops, and powders that are unsafe to use and, if not disposed of properly, can harm the environment. 

“Ideally, there should be no partially used medications, as this suggests prescribed treatments are incomplete. However, improper storage raises the risk of consuming expired drugs whose composition has changed. When taken, these medications may no longer be effective for the condition they were prescribed for and could potentially harm other organs or systems,” explained Hugo Gallego, clinical toxicologist at the School of Medicine, Universidad de Antioquia. 

The Red Cross recommends not storing medications in home medicine kits. However, “if a doctor advises keeping certain medications, make sure you can easily identify their expiration dates, store them in a cool, dry place away from light, and regularly check when you need to discard them if not used,” Gallego suggested.  

Properly disposing of unused medicines can prevent adverse effects like skin allergies or contamination by fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms. However, treating them as regular waste increases other risks.  

“When it comes to public health, for instance, containers and boxes thrown in the trash could be repurposed to package unregistered medications and then sold,” explained Milena Ortiz, a pharmaceutical chemist and coordinator of the Pharmacy Regency program at UdeA. 

Pharmaceutical waste: a threat to environmental health 

While improper disposal of expired or partially used medications negatively affects health, what impact does this have on the environment? 

The key point to understand is that medicines are chemical products, many of which include substances that are hard to break down, making them toxic to the environment and contributing to pollution.   

“The biggest environmental concern is water contamination. When people flush medications down toilets or drains, the residues enter surface water and have even been found in groundwater, harming flora and fauna,” explained Andrea Salazar Ospina, coordinator of the Food Pharmaceutical Orientation Service (Sofya) at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences, Alma Mater.  

In 2019, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a drug contamination alert, revealing laboratory and field test results from freshwater ecosystems. The report confirmed the presence of various pharmaceuticals and their harmful effects on fish.  

“Active substances in oral contraceptives have led to the feminization of fish and amphibians, while psychiatric drugs like fluoxetine alter fish behavior, making them less cautious and more vulnerable to predators. Additionally, the excessive use and disposal of antibiotics in water bodies accelerate antimicrobial resistance, a global health crisis recognized by the World Health Organization,” states the report Pharmaceutical residues in freshwater.  

Vulture extinction in India  

In the 1990s, India’s vulture population suffered a catastrophic decline, with over 95% dying suddenly and without explanation. It wasn’t until 2004 that scientists discovered the cause: kidney failure from ingesting cattle carcasses laced with diclofenac. 

Additionally, a study published by the University of Chicago in 2023 revealed that the drastic decline of these birds in the territory influenced the increase in human deaths due to the proliferation of uneaten animal carcasses.   

“The extinction of vultures resulted in the loss of their scavenging role, leaving carcasses to decompose in the open for long periods. This likely contributed to a surge in rat and feral dog populations, higher rates of rabies, increased pathogen transmission, and greater water pollution from carcass disposal,” the research highlights.  

“Definitely expired and partially consumed medicines are hazardous to health and the environment, and it is precisely from there that the post-consumption programs for medicines are born, which comply with Resolution 371 of 2009, issued by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, which seeks to avoid contamination by reducing the volume of waste and ensuring the closure of the life cycle of medicines,” explained Salazar.  

Blue dot: the correct place for disposing of expired medications 

Punto Azul was established as a non-profit initiative by the pharmaceutical industry in Colombia, uniting companies dedicated to health and wellness to ensure proper waste management. A key element of this initiative is the blue dots—designated containers placed across the country where expired and/or partially consumed medications can be safely discarded, reducing environmental risks. 

“These medicines are collected by a specialized cleaning company that incinerates them under controlled environmental conditions, ensuring proper management of atmospheric emissions and preventing these substances from re-entering circulation,” said Salazar.  

It is important to note that people must not dispose of syringes, thermometers, gauze, sharps, and batteries at these pharmaceutical waste collection points. 

One of these blue points for disposing of expired and partially consumed medicines is at the University City of UdeA, behind the sports coliseum in the Sofya module. Sofya, an interdisciplinary project from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences (Cifal), unites expertise from the Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacy Regency Technology, Food Engineering, and Culinary Sciences programs to address community concerns about medicines, food, cosmetics, and medical devices. 

If you live in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley, you can locate the nearest medicine disposal point on the map below. 

**The brown symbol with a container icon and two capsules identifies the medicine collection points. 

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