DO IT RIGHT

Improperly disposing of medicine by flushing it or tossing it in the rubbish bin creates severe environmental and health hazards. Because sewage treatment plants are not equipped to filter out complex pharmaceuticals, flushed medications pass directly into waterways, contaminating aquatic ecosystems and sneaking into municipal drinking water. Meanwhile, discarded pills in landfills leach into groundwater and threaten wildlife. This chronic chemical exposure disrupts animal reproduction, alters behavior, and accelerates antimicrobial resistance, creating untreatable superbugs. 

Per Malaysia’s 2005 Regulations, pharmacy waste like expired drugs is classified as SW 403, requiring strict oversight.

DOE compliance mandates three protocols:

1. Packaging: Use durable, leak-proof, non-reactive containers.
2. Labelling: Apply DOE hazard labels with SW 403 codes and generation dates.
3. Storage: Use secure, weather-protected areas with secondary containment.

Disposal must be logged via eSWIS and handled exclusively by licensed contractors to avoid penalties.

BIG CARING Group actively champions the “Do It Right” Programme by providing accessible, secure drop-off bins across its retail stores for safe medicine disposal. Frontline pharmacists educate the community on sorting waste and protecting privacy. Behind the scenes, BIG CARING Group enforces a strict chain of custody, securely storing and consolidating collected medications at their central warehouse. To ensure environmental safety, they partner with licensed hazardous waste services to transport the pharmaceuticals for high-temperature incineration. This comprehensive effort successfully prevents medication misuse and environmental contamination, bridging the gap between community retail healthcare and sustainable eco-protection.

1. READ: Consumers must read their medicine labels and proactively check the expiry dates of items sitting in their cabinets.
2. REMOVE: Consumers should remove all expired, unlabelled, damaged, or no longer needed medicines from their storage.
3. RETURN: Consumers return these gathered medicines to a designated CARING Pharmacy drop-off point for safe, high-temperature incineration.

The “Do It Right” Programme accepts a wide range of expired or unwanted pharmaceuticals to prevent environmental and public health risks. Eligible items include oral medications (tablets, capsules), liquid syrups, topical creams/ointments, eye/ear drops, suppositories, and health supplements.

However, certain categories are strictly excluded due to safety and regulatory hazards. Ineligible items include biohazardous waste, and sharps (needles, syringes) that pose puncture risks. Consumers must also exclude bulk outer packaging like cardboard boxes, which should be recycled at home to keep the disposal process efficient.

MyMediSAFE is a national-level public health and environmental initiative in Malaysia dedicated to educating the public on the correct, safe way to dispose of unused, damaged, or expired medications.

Rather than acting as a standalone program, it serves as the official national framework that unites the government, private healthcare entities, and retail chains (like CARING Pharmacy through their “Do It Right” campaign) under a single mission.