"Dispose of Expired Medicines Now in Your Mailbox"

Jongno-gu, From This Month, Dispose of Expired Medicines Using Collection Bags Available at Community Service Centers

Since 2021, ‘Expired Medicine Collection Boxes’ Installed at 19 Locations Including Apartment Complexes and District Office

From This Month, Collection Bags Provided at Community Service Centers and Public Health Centers... Can Be Disposed of in Nearby Mailboxes

Jongno-gu (District Mayor Jeong Munheon) is expanding the methods for separate collection and disposal of expired medicines from the second half of this year to enhance residents’ convenience and encourage proper disposal practices.

Since 2021, the district has been working to resolve the issue of expired medicines being indiscriminately discarded without a clear disposal system, causing environmental pollution, by piloting the installation of expired medicine collection boxes in apartment complexes within the district.

Last year, additional collection boxes were installed at the district office, community service centers, public health centers, apartment complexes, and Jongno Senior Welfare Center, and currently, a total of 19 locations operate within the district.

This year, to reduce residents’ inconvenience and improve collection efficiency, a new method has been introduced from this month where residents can place expired medicines in collection bags and dispose of them in mailboxes, from which delivery personnel will collect them.

The expired medicine collection bags are provided at community service centers and public health centers. Residents can put expired medicines into the bags and then dispose of them in the nearest mailbox. However, liquid medicines or bulky expired medicines cannot be disposed of using the collection bags.

As the issue of hazardous household waste disposal continues to arise, many citizens recognize that disposing of such waste in designated bags leads to incineration, but they still face inconvenience due to a lack of collection boxes and insufficient publicity.

Additionally, 30% of expired medicines disposed of in Seoul are processed by landfill methods, which can pollute soil and water quality, posing a threat to public health, thus requiring greater caution in expired medicine disposal.

Considering these factors, Jongno-gu plans to further devise ways to properly dispose of and efficiently collect expired medicines. For inquiries related to expired medicine disposal, contact the Cleaning Administration Division’s Cleaning Operations Team.

District Mayor Jeong Munheon stated, “From this month, we have partnered with the post office to introduce a new method for collecting expired medicines,” adding, “We expect this to increase residents’ convenience and enable transparent and efficient handling of expired medicines. We will continue to strive to achieve both environmental pollution prevention and the promotion of residents’ health.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.