| Improper disposal of
prescription or over-the counter drugs adds chemicals to
the water supply and/or soil. Though the concentration
of these chemicals in surface waters is extremely low,
the presence of these substances in the environment is
emerging as an important issue. As with any household
hazardous waste, you should not flush these items down
the toilet, down the sink, or place in recycling.
Proper disposal of unwanted medications is
relatively simple:
- Check with your pharmacy. Some will accept
unused medications and destroy them.
OR
- Dispose of unused medications in the trash, but
first, make certain that you've taken the necessary
precautions to prevent accidental or intentional
ingestion by following these steps:
- Keep the medications in the original
container. Being able to identify the medication
could be helpful in case a child or pet
accidentally ingests it.
- Mark out all identifying personal
information on the prescription label.
- Crush solid medications or dissolve them in
water and mix with kitty litter, sawdust, or
anything else that will make the drug
unavailable or unappealing for a child or pet to
eat. This also works with liquid medications.
- Seal the bottle with the lid.
- Place the medicine bottle in a
non-recyclable container before placing in the
trash to disguise the medicine.
Several campaigns have begun to promote proper
medicine disposal.
- My Flush Counts - Hampton Roads Sanitation
District (HRSD)
- SMARxT
Disposal - Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America, US Fish and Wildlife
Service, American Pharmacists Association - The
American Water Works Association published an
article about the program launch, entitled "Agencies
Launch Medicine Disposal Campaign". Download the PDF version of the
Medicine Disposal article.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required in order to download
the reports. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can
download a free copy. |
