The City of Toronto flushed half a million dollars in hand sanitizer down the drain because it couldn’t find a way to use it up before it expired.

The wasted sanitizer was part of a multi-million-dollar stockpile of medical supplies that would be handed out to front-line city and health-care workers if a pandemic struck.

Other nearby public health agencies and cities also stocked up but officials in Peel Region and Hamilton made a point of using up their supplies to avoid wasting taxpayer dollars, the Star found.

The bulk of Toronto’s supply — about 390,000 pocket-sized bottles containing enough germ-killing fluid to fill a tanker truck — expired in late 2012 before it was ever used. The $571,000 in squandered sanitizer cost $53,750 to throw out.

“To see this kind of waste it is actually unbelievable, said Councillor Cesar Palacio. “You would never see this in the private sector . . . At the end, it is the taxpayers that are paying for this level of inefficiency.”

A city spokesperson told the Star, “every effort was made to use the hand sanitizer through normal operational demand.” In 2011, a year before the expiration date and long after the 2009 H1N1 pandemic scare subsided, the city tried to off-load the bottles, the spokesperson said.

They considered sending it overseas, but said gaining city approval and shipping would take too long. In the end, it gave 10,000 bottles, less than 3 per cent of the total, to schools and city agencies.

What remained was recycled by Hotz Environmental Services Inc., in March.

Toronto follows provincial guidelines that direct cities and health agencies to stockpile supplies for at least four weeks, detailed in the Ontario Health Plan for an Influenza Pandemic. Officials involved in planning recommended Toronto stock enough for eight weeks, city documents show.

Between 2008 and early 2010, the city bought $8.4 million in supplies, including about $1 million in hand sanitizer, $4.2 million in antiviral medication and $500,000 in gloves, the city said. Most of the purchases took place in 2009. It also bought hospital gowns, goggles, surgical masks and face masks.

In 2009, Councillor Palacio had challenged an untendered contract for hand sanitizer topping $617,000. He told the Star the city didn’t know how much it needed and paid too much.

“It was just amazing to see how we are wasting money,” he said. “That money could have been used in other programs that are very important in the social infrastructure in the city.”

Officials justified the rush and cost on “emergent need,” and “limited availability,” in the marketplace, according to city documents.

The global H1N1 pandemic had Canadian health authorities warning of widespread illness and stressing the importance of preparing for the worst. In Toronto, 33 people who had contracted the H1N1 virus died during the 2009 and 2010 flu seasons, according to public health data.

In Toronto, about 40 per cent of the total sanitizer supply — more than $400,000 worth — was used up during regular operations by city workers, including paramedics and shelter staff. Most of the containers were pocket-sized, or 115 mL, with an ethyl alcohol content of 60 to 70 per cent.

Peel Region Public Health purchased about $680,000 worth of supplies, including gloves, masks and hand sanitizer, in 2009 and 2010, but could not provide a breakdown of costs prior to publication.

Dr. Eileen de Villa, associate medical officer of health for the Peel region, said careful planning meant items with limited shelf life, which would include hand sanitizer, “were used in advance of their expiration date.”

The products were used up by health-care workers operating five long-term care homes, as well as paramedics and public health workers in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

A spokesperson for the City of Mississauga said they have about $3,000 of hand sanitizer on hand, and restock several times a year.

Hamilton public health officials purchased supplies in 2003 and 2008, which are rotated annually. About $30 worth of hand sanitizer had to be thrown out.

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Hand sanitizer “absolutely,” can expire, through exposure to light, moisture, or through chemical reactions, said James Scott, an associate professor in occupational and environmental health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. But he said it does not happen immediately on date of expiry, but rather the effectiveness decreases with time.

Health Canada’s website states that the last four pandemics were spaced roughly 25 years apart and we should expect one in the next five to 10 years.