New Brunswick is the only province without a formal structure in place for getting rid of medications, according to Paul Blanchard.
He’s the Executive Director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association.
Blanchard says at the moment, pharmacies are accepting medication returns on a voluntary basis.
“Each pharmacy pays thousands of dollars a year to have the product disposed of properly,” says Blanchard. “The biggest cost is related to transportation, you’ve got product stored, you’ve got to depersonalize it, and you’ve got to then ship it to an incinerator or facility that manages that process and it has to be done safely.”
He says other provinces have environmental stewardship programs because they let pharmacies manage the returns without bearing the cost.
“There are other initiatives in terms of electronics and tires where recycling is important,” says Blanchard. “And the manufacturer has the responsibility to bear the cost of not just the sale and marketing of their product but also the responsibility to make sure their product is disposed of safely.”
He adds they’ve asked the government over the years about putting in place programs to manage disposal.
“I just met here recently with the Department of the Environment again, with prior governments we had been advised there was a priority in terms of the issues they were working on and this was sort of lower on their list,” says Blanchard. “But our sense is that it’s just not on their list right now.”
Blanchard says it’s about health and safety of the environment and people, because poorly disposed of medications can find their way into the water supply.
