Home poisoning risk as take-back scheme for leftover and out-of-date medicines delayed

Barrels with toxic substances at collecting point. Photo: Getty

A national collection system for households to safely dispose of unused and out-of-date medicines is critically overdue, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.

It said commitments to establish a system by 2023 were not met, leaving the risk of accidental ­poisoning, deliberate harm and drug abuse unresolved.

The EPA said the number one ­query members of the public asked on the online mywaste.ie advice portal was what to do with unused medicines.

Medication, which can also have a serious impact on the environment if flushed down toilets or left to decompose with organic waste, are among hundreds of thousands of tonnes of haz

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