Tackling out-of-date medicines — they can be a serious health and environmental risk

Internationally, one of the most pressing health challenges of our time is the problem of bacteria and viruses which resist the effects of medicine. Every antibiotic incorrectly disposed of adds to this problem

How would you tackle a drawer or shelf full of unused and out-of-date medicines like this?

A friend has been telling us about a surprisingly (to him) large amount of unused and out-of-date medicines he found while doing the always difficult job of going through the home of a recently-deceased relative.

If we’re honest, it’s a safe bet that nearly every house has such medicines. Which begs the obvious question: what eventually becomes of that little brown bottle, tablets, or package, which might have lain forgotten in a cabinet for years?