Goyang City Installs New Used Medicine Collection Boxes at 44 Local Administrative Welfare Centers

Unused Medicines at Home
Now Conveniently Disposed of at Local Administrative Welfare Centers

Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Donghwan) announced on November 7 that it has newly installed used medicine collection boxes at 44 local administrative welfare centers across the city to ensure the safe retrieval of unused or expired medicines left in households.

Poster for Installation of Used Medicine Collection Boxes. Provided by Goyang Special City

The installation of these collection boxes aims to prevent environmental pollution and health hazards caused by the improper disposal of used medicines. In addition to the existing three public health centers, residents can now conveniently dispose of used medicines at nearby administrative welfare centers.

Used medicines refer to leftover drugs after use at home, expired pharmaceuticals, and medicines that have deteriorated or spoiled. If disposed of together with regular household waste, the active ingredients can seep into the soil and rivers, negatively impacting ecosystems and human health. Therefore, they must be separated and disposed of properly.

For tablets and capsules, remove the outer paper packaging and place only the capsules or tablets in a sealed plastic bag before disposal. Powdered medicines should be disposed of in their unopened packaging.

Liquid medicines should be sealed in leak-proof containers, excluding glass bottles, before disposal. For eye drops, ointments, and other topical medicines, separate the paper packaging for collection and dispose of the remaining container. However, health supplements such as vitamins, omega-3, and probiotics are not classified as used medicines and should be discarded with regular household waste.

A city official stated, "Proper collection and disposal of used medicines are essential measures to protect public health and the environment," and requested the active participation of all citizens.

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