Wolverhampton Services
The INSPIRE Inhaler Recycling Scheme which is designed to improve the recycling rate of inhalers from patients. Most inhalers when the patient no longer uses or requires them are disposed of at home through domestic waste bins. This means that millions of pressurised metered dose inhalers end up in landfill each year, where, over time, they will release residual HFCs into the atmosphere.
The INSPIRE scheme is designed to safely and effectively support your patients to recycle their empty, unwanted, or out-of-date inhalers by returning them to your pharmacy or through the collection points in New Cross Hospital and Cannock Chase Hospital. This will mean that the harmful HFCs will be incinerated, and the plastic body of the inhaler will be recycled.
The collection bin will be provided and emptied by the waste and recycling team at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
Your pharmacy can support with:
• The promotion and in-pharmacy awareness of the service to patients for whom you dispense inhalers.
• Encouraging your patients to return empty, unwanted, or out-of-date inhalers for recycling at your
pharmacy or the collection points mentioned above.
• To place only the inhaler in the bin provided by the scheme and email [email protected] for collection when the bin is ¾ full.
• Signing an annual waste transfer notice on delivery of the bin and renew each year. The waste transfer note must be kept by the pharmacy for 2 years from the date of issue.
