Pilot project for pharmaceutical waste management announced – Medicines to be returned to pharmacy instead of being thrown away

Serbia is about to establish a system for the collection and safe disposal of pharmaceutical waste from households, and in connection with this, the #VRATILEK pilot project is being launched, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

Minister of Environmental Protection Sara Pavkov emphasized that the intention was to raise awareness among citizens about the importance of properly handling unused and expired medicines, but also to enable pharmaceutical waste to be handed over to pharmacies completely free of charge.

– Listening to citizens’ problems, we recognized the need to launch a pilot project related to pharmaceutical waste. Until now, there was no possibility for citizens to safely hand over expired medicines to local pharmacies, nor did pharmacies have the capacity to take them back. Because of this, these medicines often ended up in municipal waste and landfills, which we want to change systematically by establishing a sustainable solution. What is important for citizens to know is that pharmacies will take over and temporarily safely store medicines, followed by their transport and proper disposal – said Pavkov.

The minister emphasized that the goal of this pilot project was to gradually move from a partial model to a sustainable national model.

– The benefits of this system would undoubtedly be a simple process of returning unused medicines, but what is even more important is greater safety, environmental protection and human health. The Ministry of Environmental Protection plans to implement pilot projects in several locations, and citizens will be informed of all the necessary information in a timely manner – said Pavkov.

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Sara Pavkov

establishment of system for collecting and safely disposing of pharmaceutical waste

Vratilek project