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Introduction The improper disposal of unused and expired medications poses significant environmental hazards and increases the risk of human harm. Even in countries with established policies for safe disposal, improper practices persist. In Nigeria, where there is a lack of stringent policies on medication disposal, this issue may be more pronounced. This study aims to assess the patterns of disposal of unused and expired medications among outpatients in selected hospitals in Ibadan. Methods A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted between December 2023 and February 2024. The survey was administered by interviewers to consenting outpatients at three healthcare facilities in Ibadan. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26, with a p -value of < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results A total of 864 outpatients participated in the study, with a mean age of 45.1 ± 14.92 years. More than two-fifths of participants had secondary education, while nearly one-third had tertiary education. About two-thirds (66.3%) of the respondents reported obtaining their medications through self-medication. Approximately 39.1% of participants always checked the expiration dates before purchasing medications, while 24.7% did so before reusing them. Majority (70.8%) reported having unused medications at home, with over 95% and nearly 90% disposing of expired solid and liquid medications, respectively, via household waste. Notably, 96.1% of participants reported never receiving education on proper medication disposal. While 47.3% of respondents recognized the environmental impact of improper medication disposal, 46.9% agreed on the need for a strategy to retrieve unused or expired medications. Overall, 68.4% of respondents demonstrated poor perceptions about safe medication disposal practices. Significant associations were found between gender (χ 2 = 10.362, p = 0.001), marital status (χ 2 = 9.824, p = 0.007), education level (χ 2 = 56.91, p < 0.001), and patients' perception towards the disposal of unused and expired medications (UEMs). Conclusion The findings highlight the urgent need for public education, awareness campaigns, and policy reform to promote proper disposal of unused and expired medications in Ibadan, Nigeria.

The management and treatment of healthcare waste (HCW) are of great concern owing to its potential hazard to human health and the environment, particularly in developing countries. Nowadays, various technological alternatives are gaining momentum as efficient and favorable waste management options across the world. However, selecting a suitable technology as well as an effective waste management approach for the treatment of HCW is still a challenging task for the municipal authorities. This study renders a comprehensive analysis of healthcare waste management (HCWM) practices and the technological options for its better management through a case study in Khulna, the southwestern division of Bangladesh. A number of healthcare establishments (HCEs) in the study area were selected and a questionnaire survey, as well as field investigations, was performed to find out the present status of HCWM and its limitations. An assessment of different technological alternatives was also carried out using Sustainability Assessment of Technologies (SAT) methodology which could pave the way for treating hazardous waste more efficiently in the Khulna metropolitan area. The study revealed that the overall HCW generation rate and hazardous HCW generation rate in Khulna city were 0.90 kg bed−1 day−1 and 0.18 kg bed−1 day−1, respectively. Assessment of management system revealed that 56% (n=38) of workers did not receive any form of training in the handling of hazardous waste. Around 54% (n=47) of them did not use any safety equipment or clothing. It has been found from the study that, among different technological alternatives based on the final score, incineration was the most suitable option for the treatment of hazardous waste in Khulna. Finally, some guidelines have been put forward to improve its existing management practices.

Background: The take-back campaign, which focuses on enhancing public awareness, safe medication disposal practices, stakeholder engagement and patient participation was used to promote medication safety in Kuwait. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of the take-back campaign in promoting medication safety in Kuwait. Methods: The campaign was implemented systematically through several stages of planning, communication and coordination among several stakeholders. This social media campaign encouraged individuals from the participating healthy cities to bring unwanted medications to designated collection centres. Returned medications were categorized based on the British National Formulary and data analysis was conducted using Excel. Consultations were held at the collection sites to increase patient confidence in medication compliance and safety. The medications were sorted and disposed safely. Results: The take-back campaign lasted 56 hours over a period of one month. It successfully engaged 405 households and collected 1005 kg of medication, comprising 7648 items, over a period 6 working days. Fifty-seven percent of the medications collected through the campaign originated from the Ministry of Health and 43% from the private sector. Fifty-two percent had expired and 59% were in solid dosage form. Painkillers comprised the largest group (18%) among the returned medications. Conclusion: The take-back campaign effectively raised awareness about medication safety and provided a safe disposal mechanism for unused and expired medications. This campaign has provided a foundation for future initiatives and contributed significantly to improving medication safety and public health outcomes in Kuwait.

Research continues to show that pharmaceutical environmental contamination causes adverse effects to aquatic life. There are also public health risks associated with pharmaceuticals because in-home reserves of medications provide opportunities for accidental poisoning and intentional medication abuse. Pharmaceutical take back programs have been seen as a potential remedy for these issues; however, a thorough review of past programs indicates limited research has been conducted on take back programs. Furthermore, there are significant gaps in take back program research. To address these gaps and ultimately determine if take back programs could improve public health, research was conducted in conjunction with the take back program Denton drug disposal days held in Denton, Texas. Socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic characteristics of Denton drug disposal days participants were investigated using surveys and Geographic Information Systems. Potential impacts of the Denton drug disposal days program on public health were determined by comparing data from Denton drug disposal days events with data supplied by the North Texas Poison Center. Results suggest that Denton drug disposal days events may have prevented accidental poisonings or intentional abuse, however only qualitative comparisons support this statement and there was insufficient empirical evidence to support the conclusion that Denton drug disposal days events were exclusively responsible for public health improvements. An interesting finding was that there was a definitive travel threshold that influenced participation in Denton drug disposal days events. Overall, this study fills some geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic data gaps of take back programs and proposes methods to analyze and improve participation in future take back programs. These methods could also be applied to improve participation in other local environmentally-focused programs such as household hazardous collection events.

IntroductionThe management of healthcare waste is a crucial issue for public health and the environment. To minimise risks, it is essential to ensure that the management of healthcare waste is meticulously applied. Additionally, among the evaluation methods adopted by the hospital hygiene department to monitor the degree of compliance. The aim of this study was to assess the degree of compliance with healthcare waste management before and after a training and support programme.MethodsThis is a pre-experimental study based on two audits of healthcare waste management at Farhat Hached University Hospital in Sousse, Tunisia. All medical, surgical and laboratory departments were included. The first audit was carried out, followed by training of the responsible staff, which was carried out according to a cycle of training and coaching hygiene technicians, and finally, a second audit was conducted. The compliance rate is compared between 2021 and 2022.ResultsWhen comparing the averages of the compliance percentages for the four audit areas, there was a statistically significant improvement between the years 2021 and 2022 in the availability of equipment and consumables required for the management of infectious and sharp healthcare waste (p=0.029) as well as intramural transport (p=0.014).ConclusionThe study highlights the central role of effective waste management training in promoting compliance, awareness and responsible practices. Constant attention and training are essential to maintain progress at Farhat Hached University Hospital. This helps create safer care environments, better public health outcomes and long-term sustainability.

Objectives Many international dental organizations have been advocating for sustainable practices in dentistry, whereby significant reductions in environmental impacts are needed. The aim of this study was to analyze dental clinical waste in a university clinic setting to explore opportunities for sustainable practices. Material and Methods Fifty dental units (chairs) that are routinely used in delivery of dental treatment and involved supervising clinicians, dental students, and patients were randomly selected, and the clinical waste generated was collected, segregated, and weighed. Statistical analysis was performed to analyze differences in waste production based on treatment performed. Results The mean waste production generated by each chair was 81.4 g of aprons, 56.2 g of gloves, 17.2 g of masks, 24.0 g of sterile wrappings, 48.8 g of other plastics, 100.8 g of cellulose‐based items, and 25.8 g of miscellaneous items. Higher waste was generated from the chairs performing endodontic procedures when compared with examinations. A potential annual greenhouse gas saving of approximately 10 kg CO2e per year (when one patient is treated daily) can be achieved if sterile wrapping plastics were to be recycled. Conclusions Simple yet achievable opportunities for efficient clinical waste management at university clinics exist, which in turn will increase environmental sustainability in the post‐COVID‐19 era. Increased awareness and incentives for sustainable measures could potentially enhance the possibility of wider adoption of ecofriendly approaches.

Pharmaceuticals wastes are drugs and medicines that can no longer be used. The improper disposal of unused medicines is a growing problem throughout the world. This study assessed the pharmaceutical wastage rate and pharmaceutical waste management for the year 2015 to 2017 in the public health facility of Dessie, Ethiopia. A cross-section study design was used to review logistic data retrospectively from health commodity management information systems and manual records in 8 health facilities. Health professionals' (135) pharmaceutical waste management practices were assessed using the world health organization waste management checklist. Descriptive and inferential statistics were made using a statistical package for social sciences version 20. Supplies were the leading class of pharmaceuticals with an overall wastage rate of 37.1%. Tablet and injectable constituted the highest class of pharmaceuticals dosage form with the overall wastage rate of 20.78% and 16.49%. The overall pharmaceutical wastage rate was 3.68% amounting to USD 159,762.66 and expiry (92.05%) was the major reason for wastage. The pharmaceutical wastage rate of health centers was nearly twofold higher than hospitals. Pharmaceutical waste management was practiced by 105 (77%; 95% CI; 69.9%, 84.9%) health professionals. Determinants of pharmaceutical waste management were being male (P value = 0.08, AOR = 3.72), receiving training (P value = 0.01, AOR = 4.34), writing label (P value = 0.02, AOR = 5.04), storage of segregated waste in dispensing unit (P value = 0.01, AOR = 0.72) and the presence of disposal plan (P value = 0.002, AOR = 16.93). Supplies and tablets constituted the highest wastage class of pharmaceuticals and dosage form. The pharmaceutical wastage rate was higher than the standard and increasing in successive years. Pharmaceutical waste management was not fully practiced. Appropriate inventory control and waste management are recommended.

During the pandemic, the amount of infectious medical waste has increased dramatically. Currently, the medical waste recycling process generally suffers from defects such as long distances, high costs, and a lack of emergency response mechanisms. This paper addresses the problem of medical waste collection and route optimization for regions with multiple vehicle types and stages. It comprehensively considers factors such as transportation costs, distance, vehicle allocation, and contamination risks during the collection and distribution of medical waste. The goal is to minimize transportation costs and risks, with constraints including uniqueness, connectivity between nodes, and vehicle load capacity. A segmented collection approach is used to model the medical waste collection process. An optimization method for medical waste collection site selection and vehicle routing is proposed. Given the NP-hard nature of the problem, a location allocation method based on minimum envelope clustering analysis is employed, and an improved NSGA-II algorithm incorporating a fast non-dominated sorting mechanism is designed to obtain Pareto optimal solutions. Comparing with the results of traditional genetic algorithms through simulation, the results show that using the improved NSGA-II to solve practical problems: 1. When the production of medical waste is flat (1 disposal center, 4 backup transfer points, 58 producing points), the total cost is reduced by 13.94%, the total mileage is reduced by 7.17%, the full load rate is increased by 6.14%, and the convergence time is 26 seconds. 2. When the production of medical waste increased significantly (1 disposal center, multiple backup transfer points, 58 producing points), the total cost, total mileage, and transportation risk were reduced by 9.50%, 10.35%, and 2.03%, respectively, and the full load rate increased by 5.98%. The final results also indicate that compared to the results obtained by traditional genetic algorithms, the improved NSGA-II algorithm performs better in solving the optimization problem of infectious medical waste transportation routes.

Proper hospital waste management poses important concerns due to the risk capacity of hospital waste to health and the environment. Healthcare management approaches have changed in recent years, motivated by the desire to minimize the environmental impact. The review aims to examine the current HCW and considers the local challenges associated with establishing a circular economy (CE) to improve hospital waste management regarding training along Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA). The study found that mean medical and general waste segregation rates in public hospitals were 50.15 and 49.85, respectively. On average, 3.6 kg of waste was generated per bed per day. Analysis revealed a significant correlation between total waste and infectious waste with the number of occupied beds in the hospital ( p  < 0.05). Updating national laws by the CE approach is necessary. Our insights into circular hospital waste urge establishing a green management team, new training methods, and continuous supervision. Using PDCA to enhance waste segregation, training, and other aspects of hospital waste management is vital.

Medical wastes are considered hazardous because they may possess infectious agents and can cause unsafe effects on the environment and human health. This study is to analyze and evaluate the current status of medical waste management at Jenin’s district in light of medical waste control regulations recommended by the World Health Organization. The results demonstrated that the average hazardous healthcare waste generation rate ranges from 0.54 to 1.82 kg/bed/day with a weighted average of 0.78 kg/bed/day. There was no established waste segregation of healthcare waste types in all hospitals, and these wastes were finally disposed of in a centralized municipal sanitary landfill, namely Zahrat Al-Finjan. The results suggest that there is a need for activation and enforcement of medical waste laws. This can be achieved through cooperation among key actors: Ministry of Health, Environmental Quality Authority, Ministry of Local Government, and Non-Governmental Organizations working in related fields. Additional remediation measures proposed to tackle the problematic areas of medical waste management in Jenin’s district hospitals are addressed. Some recommendations to minimize potential health and environmental risks of medical waste are also introduced.