Unwanted medicines in the home and on farms are a potential hazard to young and old. Accidental poisonings from medicines are a common reason for hospitalisation and premature death.
It is important that expired or unwanted animal medicines are not stored for later use or used in other animals, as they may no longer be effective and could have adverse effects.
Unwanted medicines, both human and animal, and their empty containers should be disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.
Agsafe’s ChemClear® program and the RUM Project provide safe and sustainable pathways for you to dispose of unwanted or expired veterinary medicines responsibly.
FOLLOW THESE FOUR SIMPLE STEPS
- Read the label on your veterinary medicines and check the expiry date. Consider whether you still need all the medicines for your animals.
- Place all expired and unwanted veterinary medicines in a bag or container for safe transport and disposal.
- Is the product in an original container that is 1 litre or greater? If so, it may be eligible for Agsafe’s ChemClear® program – which is free for products carrying the drumMUSTER logo. More information on the ChemClear program can be found below.
- Is the product eligible for the RUM Project? If so, return the expired or unwanted veterinary medicines to your local pharmacy. Your pharmacist will put your veterinary medicines in a secure bin for safe disposal.
For more information, visit chemclear.org.au, returnmed.com.au or talk to your local pharmacist.
More information
Frequently Asked Questions | Return of Unwanted Medicine (returnmed.com.au)
• Vet Med Disposal Pets: Download pdf (349 KB)
• Vet Med Disposal Livestock: Download pdf (525 KB)
• A4 Vet Clinic Brochure: Download pdf (521 KB)
RUM Project (Disposal of unwanted or expired medicines)
The RUM Project provides a safe avenue to dispose of smaller volumes (less than 200 ml/g) of unwanted or expired medicines – including veterinary medicines – responsibly.
You can return unwanted and expired animal medicines to your local pharmacy for free and the pharmacist will put the medicines into the RUM bin.
The RUM Project is funded by the Commonwealth Government. All medicines collected in RUM bins are incinerated at an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) accredited facility – high temperature incineration is the EPA recommended method of disposal of medicines.
For more information, visit returnmed.com.au or talk to your local pharmacist.
drumMUSTER (Disposal of eligible agvet containers)
drumMUSTER provides an easy, environmentally-friendly way of disposing of empty farming chemical containers across rural Australia. Under this stewardship program agvet chemical containers are collected and recycled. Empty, clean containers displaying the drumMUSTER logo are delivered to one of the 830 collection sites across Australia. More than 43 million containers have been diverted from landfill since the program began in 1999. Plastics make up the majority of agvet containers so by redirecting non-biodegradable plastic waste into recycling projects. By participating in the program, Animal Medicines Australia members demonstrate their commitment to the environment as well as product stewardship. drumMUSTER is funded via a fee-for-service model by participating companies. The drumMUSTER program is delivered by Agsafe.
Find out more about drumMUSTER
ChemClear (Disposal of unused agvet chemicals)
ChemClear® is a national product stewardship program and enjoys the support of 121 participating agvet chemical manufacturers and industry stakeholders, including grower and farming associations, local and state governments.
ChemClear® compliments drumMUSTER, by providing agvet chemical users with a recycling and disposal option for agvet customers.
ChemClear’s objective is to provide a safe disposal pathway for unwanted agricultural chemicals. To date, over 1 million litres has been safely removed from farms and regional communities.
Find out more about ChemClear