Pharmaceutical waste disposal in the sanitation service chain (Kenya)

The study assessed the availability of infrastructure that supports sound pharmaceutical waste management, identified the commonly disposed of antibiotic drugs, determined the proportion of community pharmacy managers and households with knowledge of pharmaceutical waste management and examined the common methods of pharmaceutical waste management. A cross- sectional study design was used to achieve the specific objectives. The sample size was 19 community pharmacy managers and 380 household heads. Ethical approval was obtained from the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 to generate descriptive statistics. The study established burning as the most common method of disposal, with antibiotic drugs being most disposed of and the respondents did not have the infrastructure and knowledge on disposal of pharmaceuticals. Nkubu is a growing town in terms of population and economy with increased volumes of pharmaceutical waste generated due to the new upcoming pharmacies and the indiscriminate over the counter purchase of drugs. The study recommends the need to establish public awareness, educational programs regarding management and handling of unwanted pharmaceuticals and collection points for proper disposal.