SINGREM

What SINGREM does

SINGREM (Sistema Nacional de Gestión de Residuos de Envases de Medicamentos A.C.) is a Mexican non-profit civil association (Asociación Civil), founded in 2007 by the country's principal pharmaceutical industry bodies — CANIFARMA, AMIIF and ANAFAM — to manage the post-consumer disposal of expired medications and their packaging. It operates the first sectoral private, collective, and national waste management plan registered in Mexico under SEMARNAT (registration No. 09-PMR-VI-0008-2008), fulfilling a mandatory LGPGIR obligation for the pharmaceutical industry under Articles 28, 29, 31, and 46 of the General Law for the Prevention and Integrated Management of Waste, with NOM-052-SEMARNAT-2005 classifying expired medications as hazardous waste.

The core product is a family of secure 'Contenedor Seguro' collection units placed in participating pharmacies, available in five regional variants (Puebla, León, Aguascalientes, DF, Costa) ranging from 30 to 50 liters and differing in material — stainless steel for high-traffic industrial corridors such as Jalisco and Guanajuato, high-density polypropylene with transparent viewing windows and security cylinders for urban deployment, and a lightweight plastic design with minimal metal components for coastal locations. The logistics chain runs from household deposit at the pharmacy, through supervised collection by regional SINGREM teams (covering 27 Mexican states as of 2017, reaching 65 million inhabitants via 4,800+ containers), to coprocessing and destruction at authorized cement kilns, with destruction certificates issued at each stage.

SINGREM is funded entirely by membership fees from approximately 100 pharmaceutical laboratories — including Abbott, Pfizer, Novartis, Bayer, GSK, Janssen, Merck, Lilly, Roche, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim — with fees set by the SINGREM Board of Directors. The participation model for pharmacies and the general public is free of charge; contributions from laboratories are tax-deductible. The organization also engages in regulatory-aligned public awareness campaigns in coordination with state health authorities, including joint initiatives with the Secretaría de Salud de Hidalgo and COPRISEH. As of 2017, SINGREM had cumulatively collected and destroyed more than 2,000 tonnes of expired medications, equivalent to roughly 58 million pharmaceutical units.

Name

SINGREM

Legal name

Sistema Nacional de Gestión de Residuos de Envases de Medicamentos A.C.

Website

https://singrem.org.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SINGREM is a Mexican non-profit civil association founded in 2007 by the pharmaceutical industry that operates the country's first registered sectoral waste management plan for expired household medications, deploying 4,800+ secure pharmacy collection containers across 27 states and funding final destruction via authorized cement kilns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Waste Management Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111), Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Pharmaceutical Waste Management (RCRA/Non-RCRA, Take-Back) (BPALAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pharmaceutical & Controlled Substance Waste Management (DEA-compliant, Take-back) (EUAIAFAF), Medication Disposal, Returns & Safety (Sharps/Take-Back) (HSABALAN), Medical & Biohazard Waste Disposal (RMW/Sharps) (IMAIAFAJ)

Keywords

• Pharmaceutical waste management
• Expired medication disposal
• Hazardous waste collection
• Medication take-back program
• Pharmaceutical compliance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Industry Membership Fees: SINGREM is entirely funded by the pharmaceutical industry through membership contributions. Companies that join pay a fee set by the Board of Directors. The more companies that join, the greater the coverage and lower the unit cost for participating companies. Membership contributions are tax-deductible.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SINGREM operates a national pharmaceutical waste collection and destruction service for the Mexican pharmaceutical industry. It places specialized secure containers in pharmacies across 27 states for households to deposit expired medications, then collects, transports, and destroys the waste via coprocessing in authorized cement kilns. The program is funded entirely through membership fees paid by pharmaceutical laboratories.

Product overview

SINGREM is a not-for-profit civil association created by the pharmaceutical industry to manage expired medications and their packaging from households. The core offering consists of specialized 'Contenedor Seguro' (Safe Container) collection units placed in pharmacies, available in five distinct models (Puebla, León, Aguascalientes, DF, and Costa) tailored for different regions and capacities. The service includes a complete logistics chain: household identification and deposit, pharmacy collection, temporary storage with sampling, and final destruction via coprocessing in cement kilns, with certified documentation at each stage. The system operates under a registered Plan de Manejo (Management Plan) covering 27 Mexican states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medication Collection and Destruction Service End-to-end waste management service for expired medications and pharmaceutical packaging: collection from participating pharmacies via secure containers, temporary storage with sampling, transportation, and final destruction through coprocessing in authorized cement kilns, with documented destruction certificates. Targeted at pharmaceutical laboratories requiring LGPGIR-compliant post-consumer waste management.
• Laboratory Membership Program Recurring membership subscription for pharmaceutical laboratories, with fees set by the SINGREM Board of Directors. Membership grants laboratories access to the national collection infrastructure, LGPGIR compliance documentation, tax-deductible contributions, and destruction certificates. More than 100 pharmaceutical companies participate.
• Pharmacy Adherence Program Free host-site program for pharmacies that place SINGREM secure containers at their point of sale for consumer deposits of expired medications. Participating pharmacies receive the 'Farmacia Adherida al Plan de Manejo' distinction. More than 4,800 containers have been placed across 27 Mexican states.
• Contenedor Seguro SINGREM (Safe Container)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered founding/fundamental, founding, regional, core and minor.

• CANIFARMA (Cámara Nacional de la Industria Farmacéutica)founding/fundamentalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCANIFARMA initiated and founded SINGREM in 2007. As the National Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry, they provide foundational support and governance. The SINGREM Board sets membership fees. CANIFARMA approved the national expansion program in 2009.
• AMIIF (Asociación Mexicana de Industrias Innovadoras de Dispositivos Médicos)foundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the founding of SINGREM in 2007 as part of the industry coalition. Contributed to establishing the national pharmaceutical waste management system.
• ANAFAM (Asociación Nacional de Fabricantes de Medicamentos)foundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the founding of SINGREM in 2007 alongside CANIFARMA and AMIIF. Part of the founding industry coalition.
• State Health Authorities (e.g., SSH Hidalgo)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with state health secretaries for joint public health campaigns such as 'Limpiemos Hidalgo de Medicamentos Caducos'. Authorities support campaign promotion and regulatory oversight.
• COPRISEH (Comisión para la Protección Contra Riesgos Sanitarios de Hidalgo)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerState commission for protection against sanitary risks collaborating on medication disposal campaigns and health protection initiatives in Hidalgo state.
• Authorized Cement Kiln OperatorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThird-party authorized operators who perform final destruction of collected medications through coprocessing in cement kilns. They issue destruction certificates (manifests) and comply with SEMARNAT environmental standards.
• Club de Fútbol PachucaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal sports team collaborating on public awareness campaigns for medication disposal in Hidalgo, such as the 'Limpiemos Hidalgo' campaign.
• SEMARNAT (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal environmental authority that registered and oversees the SINGREM waste management plan (No. 09-PMR-VI-0008-2008). Provides regulatory framework and compliance oversight.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SIGRE: Spanish pharmaceutical industry program for collection and environmentally sound disposal of empty packaging and unused medicines via pharmacy containers. Directly comparable business model, funding structure (industry-funded), and consumer-facing take-back through retail pharmacies.
• VALORMED: Portuguese integrated management system for packaging waste and expired medicines, founded by the pharma industry with pharmacy-based collection. Operates under the same sectoral EPR logic that underpins SINGREM.
• Cyclamed: French pharmaceutical take-back program funded by pharma industry members, collecting expired/unused medicines from pharmacies for safe destruction. SINGREM is the closest analog: same collective EPR model, same regulatory-driven origin, same pharmacy-container-based distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Environmental Services: Multinational waste management and environmental services operator with hazardous waste treatment capabilities, including pharmaceutical residues. Active in Mexico and could absorb pharma waste take-back operations at scale.
• Clean Harbors: Largest North American provider of hazardous waste disposal and environmental services. Although focused on industrial hazardous waste, its pharmaceutical waste division competes for destruction volumes that SINGREM currently routes to cement kilns.
• Sharps Compliance: US-listed provider of medical and pharmaceutical waste management, including take-back solutions for consumer medications via mail-back and container programs. A credible US comparator for SINGREM's pharmacy-container model.
• Stericycle: Global incumbent in regulated waste management including pharmaceutical, hazardous, and medical waste. While not a collective EPR program, Stericycle competes for the same pharma customers and could enter the Mexican take-back segment with capital-backed solutions.

Emerging players

• Daniels Health: Medical waste and sharps management company with reusable container systems and pharmaceutical waste services. Comparable to SINGREM's reusable-container innovation (León/Aguascalientes/Costa models) and operates in adjacent segments of pharma waste.

Regional players

• Saam Sacked: Latin American hazardous waste operators (collective descriptor). Regional specialists in industrial and pharmaceutical waste destruction in countries like Brazil, Chile, or Colombia would represent natural geographic extension peers for SINGREM if it pursues Latin American expansion.

Others

• CANIFARMA: Founding industry chamber of SINGREM and governing body that sets membership fee levels. While not a peer in the operational sense, it is a key ecosystem participant whose continued support is foundational to SINGREM's member-funded model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/singrem
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCi1JjEIb4QgrP9crY-Cx3tA
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SINGREM