Pharmaceutical company aims to staunch danger of unused medicine

Expired drugs are becoming a significant threat to the environment because of their chemical ingredients that can change and become hazardous if disposed improperly, especially into water and the earth, and a State-owned pharmaceutical company has called on the public to pay more attention to the issue.

On Aug 13, Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co Ltd, whose headquarters are in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, invited public health policy researchers and online drug retailers to an event in Beijing to announce new to deal with the issue.

The company has been recycling expired drugs since 2004 by working with pharmacies throughout the country to provide people new drugs to replace the expired ones free of charge. Last year it became possible for people to search on the social media app WeChat for sites where expired drugs can be exchange for new ones.