Pharmaceutical waste disposal
Pharmaceutical waste is any medicine your practice no longer needs: expired stock, part-used packs and vials, returned or discontinued items, and the liquids, creams and inhalers that come with them. It is separated by one question, whether the medicine is cytotoxic or cytostatic.
Ordinary medicines go in blue-lidded bins. Cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs, and anything contaminated with them, go in purple. Both are incinerated, and both need the right code on the consignment note.
Route for all medicines waste
Incineration
Environment Agency appropriate measures
Where each kind of medicine goes
The two medicines streams in HTM 07-01, plus the sharps that carry medicine residue.
Blue
Tablets, capsules, liquids, creams, inhalers, vaccines and other medicines that are not cytotoxic or cytostatic, kept in their original packaging where possible.
Incineration
Purple
Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines and anything contaminated with them, including vials, gloves, syringes and giving sets.
High-temperature incineration only
Yellow
Needles and syringes contaminated with non-cytotoxic medicines, in yellow-lidded sharps bins.
High-temperature incineration only
What pharmaceutical waste collection costs
Clinical waste is priced per container and per collection, so the figure that matters is what you fill and how often it goes. Use these as a budget check before you ask for prices.
| Item | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Each sack or container collected Typical range from published UK clinical waste price comparisons, autumn 2026, varies with size, stream and frequency | £8 to £25 |
| One clinical waste sack, with disposal (council benchmark) South Derbyshire District Council commercial tariff 2026/27, per sack | £18.01 |
| Single treatment room or small clinic All streams, typical monthly range, published UK clinical waste price comparisons, autumn 2026 | £15 to £60 a month |
Where these figures come from
Per-container and monthly ranges are typical figures from published UK clinical waste price comparisons, autumn 2026, excluding VAT, and are a guide, not a quote. Council figures are from the South Derbyshire District Council fees and charges 2026/27 (VAT "where applicable"), and sharps bin supply prices from Hull City Council. All read November 2026. Council tariffs are useful benchmarks because they are published; private contractors set their own prices.
Rules and paperwork for medicines waste
The duty of care sits with the practice that produces the waste, even once it is on the contractor's lorry.
- Codes
- 18 01 09 for non-cytotoxic medicines from human healthcare and 18 01 08* for cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines; the animal equivalents are 18 02 08 and 18 02 07* (Environment Agency colour table).
- Incineration only
- The Environment Agency expects all medicinal waste to be incinerated, not sent to alternative treatment (GOV.UK, managing healthcare wastes).
- Controlled drugs
- Schedule 2, 3 and 4 controlled drugs must be denatured with a kit so they cannot be recovered before they go in the bin, with the destruction recorded and witnessed as your policy and the regulations require.
- Patients' returned medicines
- Medicines patients return from home normally go back through a community pharmacy, not your practice contract.
- Hazardous waste consignment note
- Every collection of orange, yellow, purple or amalgam waste travels on a consignment note. You fill in the producer part, keep your copy, and hold all notes for three years in a register at the premises (GOV.UK, hazardous waste producers).
Where our information comes from
- NHS England: HTM 07-01, safe and sustainable management of healthcare waste (2022 edition)
- Environment Agency: types of healthcare waste by packaging colour
- GOV.UK: healthcare waste pre-acceptance, acceptance and tracking
- GOV.UK: hazardous waste, producers and holders
- legislation.gov.uk: Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34
Need blue and purple bins collected along with your other clinical waste?
Get collection pricesHow a medicines waste service gets set up
Tell us the practice
Postcode, type of practice, the streams you produce, roughly how many bins or bags a month and any contract end date.
We name a contractor
We find a licensed contractor that collects in your postcode and handles your streams, then tell you who it is before anything is passed on.
Survey and written price
The contractor confirms which medicines streams you have, supplies blue and purple bins of the right size and adds them to your collection round in a written price.
Collections and paperwork
Containers are delivered, the first collection is booked, and every visit leaves a consignment or transfer note for your records.
Questions practice managers ask
What is pharmaceutical waste?
Medicines that are no longer needed: expired, part-used, contaminated or returned. In healthcare it is split into non-cytotoxic medicines (blue bins) and cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines (purple).
What colour bin is pharmaceutical waste?
Blue-lidded for ordinary medicines and purple for cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines. Sharps with medicine residue go in yellow-lidded sharps bins.
Can out-of-date medicines go in the orange bag?
No. Orange waste can go to alternative treatment, which is not suitable for medicines. Medicines must go to incineration in blue or purple containers.
What are cytotoxic drugs?
Drugs that are toxic to cells, used mainly in cancer treatment, plus some hormone and antiviral treatments. Your pharmacist or the product information will say if a medicine is cytotoxic or cytostatic.
How should a practice dispose of controlled drugs?
Denature them with a controlled drug denaturing kit so they cannot be retrieved, record the destruction with a witness as required, then place the kit in the medicines bin.
Get pharmaceutical waste collection prices
Three short steps: where the practice is, what you produce, and how to reach you. It takes about two minutes and nothing is booked.
This is a free matching service, not a waste contractor. We find a licensed clinical waste contractor that collects in your postcode and tell you its name first. No contractor calls until you agree.
Thanks, your enquiry is in.
- We look for a licensed clinical waste contractor that collects your waste streams in your postcode, then email or call to tell you who it is.
- That contractor only gets your details once you agree.
- They confirm containers, collection frequency and a price in writing, along with the duty of care paperwork. No marketing from us, ever.