Every year, billions of pills and tablets go unused across Canada and one local company is recycling the waste into usable ingredients.

UnBound Chemicals is collecting, sorting, extracting, and repurposing the valuable ingredients inside unused and expired medication, and is unlocking value from the pharmaceutical waste.

The St. John’s-based startup achieved a major milestone in its laboratory research when it successfully extracted an active ingredient from pills that expired in 2018.

UnBound’s research revealed that inactive ingredients in medicine expire first, but active ingredients can remain stable for up to 15 years.

The project is a collaboration between UnBound Chemicals and Memorial University’s Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, which was facilitated by a federal non-profit organization.