BACKGROUND: Medication waste is defined as 'any pharmaceutical product that remains unused or is not fully consumed during the entire pharmaceutical supply chain'. Given the growing recognition of the environmental impact of healthcare waste, an understanding of the scale and sources of medicines waste generated in Ireland is required. AIM: This study aims to quantify the amount of patient-returned medicines and pharmacy-generated medication waste in a sample of community pharmacies in Ireland, and to explore underlying causes and potential economic impacts. METHODS: A medicines waste audit was conducted in four community pharmacies in April/May 2025. The audit tool captured data on the type, form, quantity, ATC code, source and given reason for return or wastage. The value of the waste was calculated based on the wholesaler list price. RESULTS: The majority of wasted medicines was from patient returns (72%), and prescription medicines accounted for 90% of all wasted medicines. Patient death (21%), treatment discontinuation (13%) and non-adherence (13%) were the primary reasons for patient-returned medicines. Amendments to blister-packs (31%), expired medicines (27%) and uncollected medicines (16%) were the main drivers of pharmacy-generated waste. The mean value of medication waste per pharmacy was €1,512 over four weeks or €19,662 annually, extrapolating to a national estimate of €37.5 million. CONCLUSION: There is a clear need for targeted interventions to minimise medication waste across the medicines use phases involving key stakeholders. Moving towards a more sustainable healthcare system would not only lessen environmental harm, but also promote more efficient resource use and improve patient care.
O’Leary et al. (Wed,) studied this question.