All drugs collected by SIGRE are destroyed.

-SIGRE deplores and rejects the use of generic way, its acronym in the case that the Supreme Court instructs against former Minister of public works, José Blanco, known as case champion ”

-SIGRE activity is not subject to administrative concession of any Ministry

-the marketing of medicines returned by citizens to the pharmacy is prohibited by the Agency Spanish drugs and health products, following the guidelines of the World Health Organization

-the ministries of environment of communities and autonomous cities monitor and control the destruction of drugs is done correctly

– in all countries of the European Unionthe destruction of the remains of medicines is a legal obligation and not a business. Therefore SIGRE is a non-profit that cannot obtain benefits by their activity

Madrid, February 2012.- SIGRE deplores and rejects the use of generic SIGRE abbreviations in the case that the Supreme Court instructs against former Minister of public works, José Blanco, known as case champion ”to refer to the project, which supposedly had the businessman Jorge Dorribo, perform a repackaging of medicine residues returned by citizens to the pharmacy in order to proceed with its sale in third world countries.

This alleged project has absolutely nothing to do with the environmental activity carried out by the pharmaceutical sector through SIGRE and that has been the subject of so many social surveys from important public and private institutions. The misuse of the SIGRE concept and these acronyms can damage the image of the sector and discredit the collective efforts of many professionals working in this much-needed environmental work.

Therefore, firstly, SIGRE wants to express public opinion that all drugs deposited by citizens in the SIGRE points of pharmacies are destroyed in accordance with Spanish and European legislation in the field of environment.

In addition, is should highlight that the marketing of any medication that has been returned by the patient to the pharmacy, is illegal still banned by the Spanish Agency of medicines and health products, following the guidelines of the World Health Organization.

On the other hand, we must remember that SIGRE is a completely private capital, founded in 1999 by all the pharmaceutical sector, which has no administrative relationship with the Ministry of health, social services and equality or the Ministry of environment and whose activity is not subject to administrative concession by any of these institutions, or of any other Ministry.

It is important to highlight that, according to law, SIGRE is a not-for-profit entity so it is forbidden to profit by its activity. The reason for its creation was to allow the agents of the pharmaceutical industry comply with the law 11/1997 of packaging and packaging waste, ensuring, as is done in other countries of the European Union, the collection of packaging and remnants of drugs of origin at home to give them a proper environmental treatment. This treatment necessarily involves the destruction of any drug that has been deposited by citizens in the SIGRE point of pharmacy.

As a guarantee that this management is carried out in an appropriate manner and in accordance with current Spanish and European environmental legislation, the SIGRE activity is controlled and supervised by the ministries of environment of each and every one of the communities and autonomous cities of our country.

All waste deposited by the citizen in the SIGRE points of pharmacy are transferred to the plant of classification of waste medicines, where are separated and classified for three groups distinguished from fractions of waste requiring specific environmental treatment:

-the first group corresponds to dangerous medicines, which are delivered to managers of waste for their elimination;

– the second group is obtained by separating the containers of the remains of drugs that they may contain. These containers, once classified by materials (paper, cardboard, glass, plastic) are subsequently sent to recycler companies;

-Finally, the remains of non-hazardous drugs and those containers of medicines that are not likely to be recycled is disposed of through energy recovery, i.e., are used as fuel in industrial facilities or to produce electrical energy.

In this way, SIGRE ensures that 100% of the remains of drugs deposited with the SIGRE points are destroyed through a specific environmental treatment and that they are not devoted to any other purpose. Therefore, it must be made absolutely clear that these residues of medicinal products not are reenvasados nor, of course, marketed.

SIGRE is a limited company, non-profit, consisting of institutions representing the three agents of the pharmaceutical sector: laboratories, distribution companies and pharmacies that responds to an environmental necessity and a legal obligation as it is the correct destruction of remnants of drugs so that they do not harm the environment.

Each of the agents of the pharmaceutical sector is a key element in the operation of SIGRE. Pharmaceutical companies provide funding, through the payment of a fee for each packaging put on the market, to offset the annual costs of management, due to their status as not-for-profit entity; pharmacists advise the citizen about the right way to recycle these waste and located the SIGRE point in its pharmacies; and distribution companies collect such waste of the SIGRE points, guarding them in their stores until they are transferred to the plant’s classification by the waste Manager hired by SIGRE for the collection, classification and final environmental treatment of this waste.

The pharmaceutical sector reaffirms its commitment to the protection of the environment and its willingness to continue to work to raise awareness among citizens of the need to make a responsible use of the medicinal product, both from the health point of view as environmental, thus responding to the confidence that Spanish society has deposited in the SIGRE activity and the many professionals working with her.