Return of Unwanted Medicines (RUM)
Safe, free, and environmentally responsible disposal of your expired or unwanted medications.
Take a look inside your bathroom cabinet. Chances are, you have a few half-empty packets of antibiotics, expired painkillers, or medications from a previous illness that you no longer need. Keeping these at home poses a significant safety risk, but disposing of them incorrectly can harm the environment.
Through the national Return Unwanted Medicines (RUM) Project, Moss Vale Community Pharmacy offers a free, secure, and environmentally safe way to dispose of your household medications. You do not need an appointment—simply bring them in to our team.
Why Not the Bin or the Sink?
Flushing medications down the toilet or pouring them down the sink introduces active pharmaceutical chemicals directly into our local waterways, harming marine life. Throwing them in the household rubbish bin increases the risk of accidental poisoning for children, pets, or local wildlife who may ingest them.
How the RUM Service Works
Disposing of your medications with us is completely free and takes just a few minutes of your time.
Gather & Check
Go through your cabinets and gather any out-of-date medicines, or medications you have been advised to stop taking by your doctor.
Drop Off
Bring the medications into Moss Vale Community Pharmacy and hand them directly to one of our pharmacists or pharmacy assistants.
Safe Disposal
We place them in a secure, tamper-proof RUM bin. Once full, it is safely transported for high-temperature, EPA-approved incineration.
What You Can (and Cannot) Bring
We accept almost all types of medicinal products, but there are strict safety rules regarding medical waste.
✅ What We Accept
- Prescription medicines (tablets, capsules, liquids)
- Over-the-counter medicines (painkillers, cold & flu)
- Herbal and complementary supplements
- Inhalers (puffers)
- Ointments, creams, and gels
- Pet medicines
❌ What We Cannot Accept
- Sharps, Needles & Syringes: These pose a needle-stick injury risk to our staff and waste handlers. Please use a dedicated community sharps disposal bin.
- General rubbish or empty cardboard medication boxes (please recycle these at home).
- Chemicals, paints, or pesticides.
Clear Out Your Cabinet Safely
You do not need an appointment to use the RUM service. Simply gather up your unwanted medicines and bring them in to our pharmacy during opening hours.
Have a question about what we can accept? Call us on
02 4868 1293
Moss Vale Community Pharmacy | 412 Argyle Street, Moss Vale NSW 2577
Service Note: The RUM Project is funded by the Commonwealth Government. It is designed for consumer household medicines only. We are unable to accept bulk medical waste from commercial businesses, farms, or nursing homes. Please ask our pharmacist if you need advice on how to safely dispose of needles and sharps in the Southern Highlands area.