9 Ways To Make Your Pharmacy More Eco-Friendly

Do you know how much energy your pharmacy uses every day? Do you know how many trees are cut down to create the products that fill your shelves? And did you know, approximately 10% to 35% of manufactured medication and its associated packaging is wasted? If not, it is time to look into ways of making your business greener. Let's take a look at the top 9 ways to make your pharmacy more eco-friendly:

1. Install energy-efficient light bulbs and make sure to turn off lights when they are not in use. Replace the light bulbs in your storefront with motion-activated ones so they will come on only when you need them!
2. Make sure to use eco-friendly packaging and avoid excess wrapping whenever possible! Use recycled paper products when possible as well. Instead of purchasing medications one at a time, work with suppliers that package medications in bulk to help reduce the amount of waste. This will save your pharmacy money in the long run!
3. Make sure your pharmacy building itself is eco-friendly and consider the following: Install a high-efficiency HVAC system. Use solar panels to generate energy for your pharmacy. Install a water filtration system to reduce the amount of water wasted. Purchase energy-efficient appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners. Purchase furniture made from sustainable materials, such as bamboo or cork.
4. Recycle cardboard, plastics, glass, and aluminum cans. If possible in your state, you can also offer to recycle customers' waste.
5. Promote medication recycling programs to help keep harmful chemicals out of landfills. Scientists have identified trace amounts of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in aquatic environments, wastewater biosolids, and treated drinking water. If patients returned 50% of excess medication to a take-back pharmacy and disposed of 50% in the trash, current API residue would be reduced by 93%. Educate your customers on the importance of being eco-friendly! Urge them to recycle their medications and packaging when they are done with them.
6. Reuse pill containers if possible and buy larger ones to cut down on the need for more. Collecting pill containers and medications to recycle can also cut down on your need for more supplies. This can also help reduce the amount of plastic waste produced by pharmacies.
7. Whenever possible, fill long-term prescriptions as 90 day supplies instead of 30. This cuts down the number of plastic vials required, along with all the paper packaging that comes with each filled prescription. It also saves you time and money, while allowing you to operate more efficiently! Encourage your customers to ask their doctors for these larger supply prescriptions if they are not currently written to allow for it.
8. Promote auto-refill only to customers who need it. This will reduce the amount of build-up in unused medications for customers.
9. Offer full-service mail orders to patients who have trouble coming in for refills. This will reduce the number of people filling prescriptions at your location and also reduce waste from unused medications!

Pharmacies are in a unique position to make a significant impact on the environment and help preserve our planet for future generations. Implementing just a few of these eco-friendly measures can make a big difference and help your pharmacy save money in the process!

How To Make Your Pharmacy Greener Using Green Logistics

Beyond the tips mentioned above, using green logistics can help your pharmacy save money and become more eco-friendly as well. Green logistics are the utilization of methods that are environmentally conscious to achieve business objectives. This can include the use of alternative fuel vehicles for delivery, using reusable materials for shipping instead of single-use packaging, environmentally sound storage practices to reduce waste/emissions from supplies, and instituting technological practices like prescription tracking for patients to help cut down on medical waste.

The use of greener technologies in pharmacies can help reduce the amount of waste produced by them and cut down on their carbon footprint at the same time. Using these techniques will not only save your business money but also help preserve our planet for future generations!

What Impact Does Wasted Medication Have On The Environment?

Maybe you're thinking, why does it matter that my pharmacy become more eco-friendly? After all, it's just one business in a world of many. But the fact is, pharmacies produce an incredible amount of waste. The EPA estimates that pharmacists generate more than two pounds of hazardous waste per day, per employee. This includes unused and expired medications, Sharps containers (used syringes), plastics, glass, chemicals, and other materials.

In addition to this, pharmacies also generate a lot of pharmaceutical waste, which is any type of medication or medical product that's been discarded. This includes medications that have passed their expiration date, over-the-counter medications and products, and unused intravenous fluids. Pharmaceutical waste can be especially harmful to the environment if not disposed of properly.

It is important for pharmacies to recycle their medications and be more eco-friendly in general. There are many ways that they can do this, such as implementing the tips mentioned above like recycling medication containers or offering mail orders. However, there are also other techniques pharmacists can use with green logistics to make them even greener! Promoting these eco-friendly practices will go a long way in helping you reduce waste and become greener.