Online initiative aims to redirect unused medicines

A new initiative by the nonprofit organization GIVMED aims to ensure that unused medicines that usually end up in the trash go to people who need them. 

By visiting the site givmed.org, people can donate medicines to one of 120 charities or health institutions of their choice ranging from pharmacies to retirement homes. Collection points are located across Athens. 

An estimated 34 million boxes of medicine expire before they are used every year in Greece. 

According to recent studies, 28 percent of Greeks donated medicines in the past 12 months. Of those medicines, 48 percent went to pharmacies and another 28 percent to charities. 

Nearly half of donors (43 percent) donate medicines that have expired while more than one in three (37 percent) disposes of them, either by flushing them down the toilet or by throwing them out with the trash, thus polluting the environment.