IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6571-d1447310.html

Pharmaceutical Waste Management: A Comprehensive Analysis of Romanian Practices and Perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Ana-Maria Ionescu

    (Department of Engineering and Industrial Management, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania)

  • Cristina Cazan

    (Department of Product Design, Mechatronics and Environment, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania)

Abstract

Pharmaceutical waste management represents a global issue. There is a significant gap in consumers’ education regarding the proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste. A significant amount of pharmaceutical waste is generated in health care facilities, including expired medicines, unused doses, and contaminated materials. Inadequate disposal of pharmaceutical waste can have effects on human health and on the environment. Managing pharmaceutical waste requires coordinated efforts from policymakers, health care providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, waste management companies, and consumers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of activities that may impact the efficiency of Romanian pharmacists in collecting and disposing of pharmaceutical waste, as well as the intentions of pharmacists/technicians to recycle this type of waste. Furthermore, this paper aims to identify institutional and behavioral barriers that affect effective waste management. This research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative research methods. An exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the elements of satisfaction and their attribution levels in the pharmaceutical industry. The statistical significance of the differences across different occupations regarding satisfaction with pharmacists’ activities to reduce waste at each stage was tested using an analysis of variance. Cross-tabulation and a Pearson’s chi-square test were used to analyze the relationship between occupational segments and intention regarding recycling and reusing pharma waste. This research was augmented using qualitative analysis based on the Delphi technique, focused on the barriers to waste management in the pharmaceutical sector. This study presents a general perspective on the current situation of pharmaceutical waste in Romania. The results indicate that the selection of appropriate pharmaceutical waste practices is primarily determined by the attitude of individuals and organizations, followed by regulatory, economic, and technical criteria. In developing sustainable pharmaceutical waste policies, this research provides practical implications for governments, organizations, and citizens. A comprehensive approach to overcoming barriers in pharmaceutical waste management was developed by combining institutional strategies that focus on organizational policies and infrastructure with behavioral strategies that target individuals and communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana-Maria Ionescu & Cristina Cazan, 2024. "Pharmaceutical Waste Management: A Comprehensive Analysis of Romanian Practices and Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-20, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6571-:d:1447310
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6571/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6571/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Justyna Rogowska & Agnieszka Zimmermann, 2022. "Household Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal as a Global Problem—A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-29, November.
    2. Kamel Mouloudj & Anuli Njoku & Dachel Martínez Asanza & Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar & Marian A. Evans & Smail Mouloudj & Achouak Bouarar, 2023. "Modeling Predictors of Medication Waste Reduction Intention in Algeria: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(16), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Josep A. Ivars-Baidal & Marco A. Celdrán-Bernabeu & Jose-Norberto Mazón & Ángel F. Perles-Ivars, 2019. "Smart destinations and the evolution of ICTs: a new scenario for destination management?," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(13), pages 1581-1600, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anuli Njoku & Kamel Mouloudj & Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar & Marian A. Evans & Dachel Martínez Asanza & Smail Mouloudj & Achouak Bouarar, 2024. "Intentions to Create Green Start-Ups for Collection of Unwanted Drugs: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Youssef El Archi & Brahim Benbba & Kai Zhu & Zineb El Andaloussi & László Pataki & Lóránt Dénes Dávid, 2023. "Mapping the Nexus between Sustainability and Digitalization in Tourist Destinations: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Edmond H. C. Wu & Jihao Hu & Rui Chen, 2022. "Monitoring and forecasting COVID-19 impacts on hotel occupancy rates with daily visitor arrivals and search queries," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 490-507, February.
    4. Ana-Maria Ionescu & Flavius Aurelian Sârbu, 2024. "Exploring the Impact of Smart Technologies on the Tourism Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-23, April.
    5. Dirk Schmücker & Julian Reif & Eric Horster & Denise Engelhardt & Nele Höftmann & Lisa Naschert & Christof Radlmayr, 2023. "The INPReS Intervention Escalation Framework for Avoiding Overcrowding in Tourism Destinations," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-11, April.
    6. Justyna Rogowska & Kamila Piątkowska & Zuzanna Głowacz, 2024. "Societal Involvement in Household Waste Sorting Behavior in the Context of the Circular Economy: A Case Study of Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Adam Hamrol & Marta Grabowska & Beata Starzyńska, 2025. "Consumers’ Willingness to Adopt Pro-Environmental Attitudes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-13, June.
    8. Junjie Gao & Dandan Xu & Younghwan Pan, 2024. "Configurational Paths to Arouse Tourists’ Positive Experiences in Smart Tourism Destinations: A fsQCA Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    9. Kamel Mouloudj & Anuli Njoku & Dachel Martínez Asanza & Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar & Marian A. Evans & Smail Mouloudj & Achouak Bouarar, 2023. "Modeling Predictors of Medication Waste Reduction Intention in Algeria: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(16), pages 1-18, August.
    10. Kamel Mouloudj & Maria Carmela Aprile & Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar & Anuli Njoku & Marian A. Evans & Le Vu Lan Oanh & Dachel Martínez Asanza & Smail Mouloudj, 2025. "Investigating Antecedents of Intention to Use Green Agri-Food Delivery Apps: Merging TPB with Trust and Electronic Word of Mouth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-23, April.
    11. Anuli Njoku & Martin Agbalenyo & Janaya Laude & Taiwo Folake Ajibola & Mavis Asiwome Attah & Samuel Bruce Sarko, 2023. "Environmental Injustice and Electronic Waste in Ghana: Challenges and Recommendations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(1), pages 1-17, December.
    12. Ruohui Li & Rui Li & Ruoshuang Lin, 2024. "Service System Design of a Community-Shared Medicine Station," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-25, August.
    13. repec:bcp:journl:v:8:y:2024:i:10:p:813-820 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Horst Treiblmaier & Daniel Leung & Andrei O. J. Kwok & Aaron Tham, 2021. "Cryptocurrency adoption in travel and tourism – an exploratory study of Asia Pacific travellers," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(22), pages 3165-3181, November.
    15. Vitor Rodrigues & Celeste Eusébio & Zélia Breda, 2023. "Enhancing sustainable development through tourism digitalisation: a systematic literature review," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 13-45, March.
    16. Hassan F Gholipour & Amirhossein Eslami Andargoli & Amir Arjomandi & Behzad Foroughi, 2022. "Capital investment in telecommunications infrastructure and tourist arrivals in developing countries: Does the public–private sectors relationship matter?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 28(7), pages 1805-1822, November.
    17. José Francisco Baños-Pino & Inés Sustacha & David Boto-García & Eduardo Del Valle, 2025. "Are Smart Tourism Destinations more productive efficient? The Spanish case," Tourism Economics, , vol. 31(8), pages 1651-1673, December.
    18. Junwei Chen & Xiaohong Wu & Ivan Ka Wai Lai, 2023. "A Systematic Literature Review of Virtual Technology in Hospitality and Tourism (2013–2022)," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6571-:d:1447310. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.