What to do with leftover medicine in France

The French health system has an excellent reputation for providing medication and medical equipment when you are ill or injured, but what can you do with leftover supplies once you have recovered?

Leftover prescription medicine

Crucially, you must not treat prescription medicine and medical supplies as ordinary household rubbish. If you have surplus tablets, medicines or creams, it is illegal to throw them in your household waste or to flush them away.

Instead, remove any cardboard packaging and instruction leaflets, put these into your recycling bin, then take the bottles and blister packs of tablets to your pharmacy. 

Pharmacies are now legally required to accept unused medication (expired or not) through the state-approved Cyclamed programme, a non-profit organisation that manages the collection of unused household medicines.

Each year, Cyclamed collects nearly 9,000 tonnes of médicaments non utilisés, which are then incinerated to recover energy as heat and/or electricity.

Some 82% of French people say they take their unused prescription drugs to the pharmacy at least once a year, reducing environmental pollution and also ensuring they are not taken accidentally by anyone else.

Splints, leg braces and more

If you have broken a bone, sprained your ankle or suffered from repetitive strain injuries, you may have been prescribed supports to aid your recovery. 

Smaller medical support items such as leg braces, walking sticks, slings and splints are known as petit matériel médical and pharmacies are not legally obliged to accept these, as they do not fall within the Cyclamed programme.

That said, the AGEC law (loi anti-gaspillage pour une économie circulaire), which aims to reduce waste in France, promotes the reuse of medical devices.

Many hospitals have a drop-off box for petit matériel médical – typically a large cardboard cylinder in the A&E department.

One company offering this service is Redeem Medical, a relatively new business with sites across the country that specialises in refurbishing medical equipment, particularly orthopaedic devices such as braces and splints.

Larger items

With 18 centres across France, Envie Autonomie is a social cooperative that collects and renovates medical equipment to sell on at a low cost to those who need it most. They also refurbish larger items such as wheelchairs, mobility scooters, commodes and hospital beds.

Most of their equipment comes via professionals, but individuals can also donate items by completing the form on their website or contacting one of their local centres.

Dangerous waste

A final word on needles, syringes and sharp objects, which must be collected in a certified yellow ‘DASRI’ box (déchets d'activités de soins à risques infectieux). Your pharmacist will provide this box when dispensing your prescription.