Inhaler Disposal and Recycling
Millions of people around the world have asthma and use inhalers every day. That's a lot of inhalers! Many don't know that you can't recycle inhalers with your regular household recycling.
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Unfortunately, when inhalers are thrown away with household waste or recycling, they end up in landfills. Our recent study found that 79% of people disposed of their inhalers this way. But there is a better way.
Throwing inhalers in the trash adds more plastic to landfills. More importantly, the gases from the inhalers can leak into the air. These gases are strong greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and climate change.
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The best way to dispose of inhalers is to return them to your pharmacy. Pharmacies have eco-friendly ways to dispose of them. They can incinerate inhalers, breaking down the harmful gases. Some pharmacies also recycle inhalers. They recover the gases for reuse in refrigeration and recycle the plastics and aluminum. Any leftover plastic can be burned to produce energy.1
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Sadly, there is no nationwide program for recycling inhalers yet. However, there are pilot programs in some areas where pharmacies actively recycle returned inhalers. We hope these recycling programs will become more common in the future.
1. Murphy, A., Howlett, D., Gowson, A. et al. Understanding the feasibility and environmental effectiveness of a pilot postal inhaler recovery and recycling scheme. npj Prim. Care Respir. Med. 33, 5 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41533-023-00327-w