a bottle filled with pills sitting on top of a wooden table

Photo by Bruno Guerrero on Unsplash

Pharmacists Say Medicine Waste Costs NHS £480m Yearly

curiousAug 8, 2026·361 words·3 min read

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents 6,000 independent community pharmacies across the United Kingdom, estimates that 3,400 tonnes of partially used medicines were thrown away in England during 2024-25. The group calculates that this discarded stock would be enough to fill roughly 75 Olympic-size swimming pools, and that the waste costs the NHS (the National Health Service) at least 480 million pounds a year. The figures come from an analysis of freedom of information responses supplied by regional health bodies.

A safety rule is one reason for the problem. After a pharmacy gives a medicine to a patient, it cannot use it again. This is true even if the box is still closed. Unused medicine must be destroyed in a special way, not thrown in normal rubbish. Pharmacists say people often order more medicine than they need, and many people stop taking their treatment before the end.

Olivier Picard, the head of the group, said this money could pay for better services for patients. He asked people to order medicine only when they are sure they will use it. He also wants doctors to check patients' medicine more often. One expert warned that old antibiotics kept at home are dangerous, because people take them later without asking a doctor.

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