Pharmaceuticals in the sea | Umweltbundesamt

The problem:

Pharmaceuticals when entering the environment can have a significant impact and can harm plants and animals. Active biological ingredients in medicines are highly active and often very stable, giving them long-lasting properties. For example, hormone preparations can impair the reproduction of fish, psychotherapeutic agents can lead to behavioural changes in fish and antibiotics can inhibit the natural growth of algae.

How do pharmaceuticals end up in the North Sea and Baltic Sea?

Active pharmaceutical ingredients are often excreted unchanged by the human body. Tonnes of active pharmaceutical ingredients enter wastewater treatment plants every year. However, not all active ingredients are removed in the treatment process and some are released into water systems that carry them to the ocean. In Germany, more than 400 different pharmaceutical residues have been detected in water and soil.

What can be done?

By disposing of pharmaceuticals correctly, consumers can protect the oceans. Medicines that are no longer needed should be disposed of in the residual waste bin, at hazardous waste collection centres or in pharmacies. To flush medicines in sinks or toilets is in no case the correct disposal way because they end up in the waste water system. More information (in German only) can be found here: Schadstoffen im Meer and Pharmaceuticals and Tipps zum Entsorgen von Arzneimitteln.