Pharmaceutical Waste Guidance
The Department of Health Technical Manual 07-06 (issued in September 2007), highlights Best Practice for the disposal of pharmaceutical waste produced in community pharmacies. The Guidance has been produced to help pharmacists understand and ensure their compliance with the Hazardous Waste Regulations (England and Wales) 2005 and builds upon the Safe Disposal of Healthcare Waste, published in December 2006.
The Guidance offers advice on the storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of pharmaceutical waste and is designed to be a comprehensive guide for community pharmacists.
It clarifies the somewhat complex area of waste licensing by confirming that whilst pharmacies are able to accept waste such as patient returns from “private householders”, accepting and storing waste from any other sources, such as nursing homes, would require a Waste Management License. This is a costly and complex process which is not a practical measure for most pharmacists.
The Guidance also confirms that whilst it is best practice to segregate cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines, this is not a legal requirement. The mixing of waste medicines is allowed on the assumption that the all of the waste is defined as potentially hazardous, recorded as such and sent for incineration.
One of the key recommendations with the Guidance is that all pharmacies should have Standard Operating Procedures for dealing with pharmaceutical waste. These procedures will ensure that all staff are fully aware of how to deal with all forms of pharmaceutical waste, including controlled drugs, patient returns, needle exchange scheme and other common forms of pharmacy waste.