Industrial Pharmacy

Waste Management of Industrial Pharmacy

Waste by definition is something that the producer no longer requires and therefore discards. In many industries the waste has been to dispose of it as cheaply as possible without much concern as to what happens. Now this altitude is changing as greater environmental safety is reflected. Fly tipped waste can poison and injure children and animals, carelessly disposed of liquid waste such as solvents can leach into ground water and contaminate drinking water supplies, poorly planned and landfills will create significant neighbourhood nuisance. Biomedical waste means “any solid and/or liquid waste including its container and any intermediate product, which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals. Biomedical waste poses hazard due to infectivity and other toxicity. biomedical waste consist of Human anatomical waste like tissues, organs and body parts, Animal wastes generated during research from veterinary hospitals, Waste sharps like hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpels and broken glass.

Pharmaceuticals are an important part of maintaining human health, but many pharmaceuticals contain toxic chemicals that can pollute the environment if they are not properly managed and disposed of. Pharmaceutical waste is potentially generated through a wide variety of activities in a healthcare facility. Hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludge’s. They can be discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of manufacturing processes. Toxic wastes are poisons, even in very small or trace amounts. They may have acute effects, causing death or violent illness. Several options are available for hazardous-waste management. The most desirable is to reduce the quantity of waste at its source or to recycle the materials for some other productive use. Environmental responsibility and stewardship is the key to any industrial Waste Disposal program. Some of the best waste management practices include Reduce unused pharmaceuticals by reviewing purchasing practices, using limited dose or unit dose dispensing, replacing pharmaceutical samples with vouchers, and performing on-going inventory control and stock rotation. Segregate waste for disposal to ensure regulations are met and to reduce costs (e.g., non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste disposal in a solid waste landfill may be less expensive than disposal via hazardous waste hauler).