Our Program
The Teleosis Institute's Green Pharmacy Program is helping communities safely dispose of expired medicines. Our goal is ZERO pharmaceutical waste in our environment!
We provide a network of take-back sites and events to collect unwanted medicines from the public for free and safe disposal.
Learn more about why this is an important issue. Click a link below:
Our Publications
Why Our Program is Unique
Green Pharmacy is the first of its kind to incorporate models of product stewardship and personal health in relation to pharmaceutical waste management. We place significant emphasis on involving everyone in the product lifecycle to participate in reducing pharmaceutical pollution.
Our program includes partners and sponsors within every sector of the healthcare industry, and our sites include hospitals, pharmacies, health clinics, doctor and and dentist offices. To further our impact, we are actively working with local and national organizations to improve safe medicine disposal programs.
We also place significant importance on educating health care professionals and consumers about the increasing trend of drug consumption, the inevitable waste that is created, and the effects of this waste on environmental and human health. Through these efforts, we hope to minimize waste at the source by
reducing over-prescribing, over-reliance, and over-consumption of drugs—a shift towards Green Pharmacy.
Green Pharmacy is constantly seeking new innovations to reduce environmental impact. We recently piloted a pill bottle recycling program with Elephant Pharmacy and Shred-It.
Shredding and recycling the plastic bottles protects private patient information, is better for the environment, and is a more cost effective destruction method. We are proud to be the first program in the nation to launch this effort.
Research Data on Unused Medicine
During the first year of the Green Pharmacy program, our pilot sites collected detailed data on returned medicines through
the Unused & Expired Medicine Registry, a program developed by the Community Medical Foundation for Patient Safety.
Data collection reveals which pharmaceuticals are most often unused, quantifies the monetary value of wasted medicines, and demonstrates environmental hazard.
Read our Preliminary Data Report >>
Our Goals
The development of a medicine take-back program is simply the first step in a comprehensive approach to sustainable medicine. Our Green Pharmacy Program aims to implement a product stewardship model in which all the participants in the product lifecycle—manufacturers,
insurers, prescribers, retailers, consumers, and disposers— share the responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals.
Our ultimate goal is sustainable medicine through sustaining self. We want to encourage everyone to ensure their well-being through daily, healthy practices. We believe personal wellness strategies and prevention are the most environmentally positive method of health care.
Pledge your support Today!
We depend on community members and organizations to support the development of our programs and environmentally sound solutions.
Your tax deductible gift supports the operation of our pilot programs, educational materials, and
advocates for prevention of pharmaceutical pollution.
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