Commercial establishments and waste of medications and disused products in the municipality of Soledade, RS: Environmental approach

Abstract

Improper disposal of unused and discarded medicine waste is an environmental and public health problem and therefore, its proper management contributes to maintaining environmental quality. Thus, this study aims to analyse environmental aspects associated with disposal of medication waste and disused drugs in the municipality of Soledade-RS and the practices adopted by commercial establishments for their management. The method used included the application of a questionnaire with 10 questions (open and closed) in 16 commercial establishments located in the municipality. The establishments were characterized and classified according to type and number of daily appointments, respectively. Regarding this characterization, the following were included: 4 commercial pharmacies, of which three are located in the Centro neighborhood and are classified as Large Size and one in the Fontes neighborhood, classified as Medium Size; 2 compounding pharmacies, located in the Center, one of which is small and the other medium-sized; and 10 drugstores, one located in the Botucaraí neighborhood, considered small, while the other nine are located in the Center neighborhood, of which three are considered small, two are medium-sized, and three are large. The municipality of Soledade is not legally required to provide fixed collection points for medication waste, but even so, 12 locations (75%) claim to provide these collectors. It is noteworthy that only 2 establishments had identified access to the consumer. The lack of information at the time of purchase can influence the destination given to medication waste, and 40% of the establishments are not providing this type of information.