The MPs of the Shor Party suggest that special garbage bins for free collection of expired or damaged medicines, pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical products should be set up in drugstores. They also propose introducing penalties for the pharmaceutical institutions that will not fulfill the conditions concerning the free collection of expired drugs from the population, IPN reports.

In a press briefing, the deputy head of the Shor Party’s parliamentary group Violeta Ivanov said the collection of medical waste from private individuals and legal entities was neglected. But the expired medicines are hazardous household waste products and they should not reach the landfill, water and soil and should be collected for being disposed of.

According to her, the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency now has a medicines disposal department. In January 2006, the Ministry of Health approved regulations concerning the destruction of expired and counterfeit drugs. Under these, the medical and pharmaceutical institutions are to organize the transportation of expired drugs to the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency for inoffensive disposal.

Violeta Ivanov also said that there is now a practice for destroying the expired medicines collected from distributors, not yet from the general population.

Under the bill proposed by the Shor Party MPs, the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency will be responsible for the collection of expired drugs.

The MPs also propose standardizing the practice of collecting expired drugs at veterinary drugstores and storehouses by placing appropriate notices. In this case, the responsibility for supervising the process will be borne by the National Food Safety Agency.

The Contravention Code will be supplemented so as to introduce penalties for those who will not organize the free collection of expired drugs.