As part of our ongoing work in the Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service, we are asking patients to return all inhalers and other medications to pharmacies, where they will be sent for clinical incineration. This is much better than disposing of them in household waste, as if they end up in landfill the propellant gases are released into the atmosphere contributing to climate change.

Many inhalers contain gases called propellants which help the medicine in the inhaler to be delivered to your lungs. These are not harmful to you, but they are potent greenhouse gases. This is why 3-4% of the whole NHS carbon footprint comes from inhalers.

It’s important to return your inhalers to pharmacies so that they can be disposed of properly, by breaking down the propellant gases into less harmful ones. Some pharmacies will be able to recycle the other materials in the inhaler, too.

Binning inhalers with your regular household waste means the propellant gases end up released into the atmosphere, so please consider bringing them to a pharmacy if you can.

If you are concerned about the possible environmental impact of your inhalers it is very important that you discuss this with your GP or Nurse, rather than just stopping your inhalers, so that any changes can be agreed and made safely.

If you use inhalers and wish to reduce the environmental impact of your treatment there are three main things you can do:

Make sure your disease control is as good as it can be

The most important issue is that the best treatment regime for you and the planet is the one which controls your asthma or COPD well. If you need to use your reliever (blue/Salbutamol) inhaler more than three times in a week, this can be a sign that your asthma is not well controlled. If this is happening, you should talk to your GP/Nurse about this.

Review your treatment with your GP, Nurse, or Pharmacist

Dry powder inhalers can be used by most people with asthma and need a quick and deep breath for the medicine to reach the airways. They usually come with a dose counter so you can track your medication use and don’t need a spacer device.

Starting or changing to a dry powder inhaler is a good way for many people to improve their care and reduce its environmental impact, but for some people MDIs will remain the best option. It’s really important that you talk about any changes to your inhaler device with your GP, Nurse or Pharmacist.

Click here for further information on Greener Practice.