The sickness of my husband (diagnosed February 2012), was terminal. He recently died of cancer. During this time a considerable supply of prescription medicine was prescribed for him and for myself (also feeling poorly).
Naturally, not all have been used and some are still unopened, some never used and some partially used but left in their original container. Not one is expired or expiring any time soon. I asked where I could take them. The answer was: take them to a pharmacy, which would arrange for them to be destroyed. Destroyed? I couldn't believe it. This is a big waste of money, mainly from the Government, because all of the medicines taken by residents are subsidised.
In my country (Italy), and in Europe, I know that medicines which can be used again are collected by authorised, non-profit organisations to be re-distributed to people in need and those needing them in undeveloped countries.
I cannot get my head around this situation I've encountered in New Zealand. My question is: Is this true (the disposing of perfectly unopened, unused, good medications, here in New Zealand)? Or have I been given the wrong information? I believe something should be done about this.

Mirella Veneziano, Bethlehem.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board responds:

While the recycling of medicines might seem to be a cost-effective way of reducing the pharmaceutical budget, and sometimes is advocated on this basis, there are a number of reasons why medicines must not be recycled.
They include: 1. Storage conditions. After the medicine has left the pharmacy its conditions of storage cannot be guaranteed. Incorrect storage may cause deterioration of the medicine. In addition, contamination may have been introduced through handling of loose solid dose forms, such as tablets.
2. Stability of the medicine. Once the medicine has been removed from the manufacture's packaging, there is usually no stability data available. Batch numbers and expiry dates are often omitted when medicines are repackaged. While this is not usually an issue on dispensed medicines, as these are prescribed for specific persons, conditions and for set time periods, if recycled that important information would not be available.
3. Identity of the medicine. Often it is difficult to establish beyond reasonable doubt the identity of a medicine, especially as often occurs, when medicines are transferred into other containers once the patient gets them home. The medicine specified on the label therefore may not be the medicine in the container.
4. Recall issues. Manufacturer's medicines' recalls are difficult enough to trace to the public level without introducing the problem of recycled medicines.
The World Health Organisation's ‘Guidelines for Drug Donations' requires that unused medicines returned to pharmacies are not donated for use in developing nations, even in emergency situations – on the grounds of lack of guarantee about safety, quality and continued efficacy.