Disposal of old medicine - Two large chains do not take expired drugs back for destruction.

[TheBlackAdder]

There have been articles about how people dour their expired drugs down the drain, leading to the drugs finding themselves back into the drinking water as many water treatment centers centers don't filter them out.

I went to two large drug chains that I use for the family scripts, trying to get them to take back the expired drugs... one said to either pour it down the drain for check with the town. The other said to water it down, mix it with old cat litter and throw it in the trash.


If they are just trashed, trash scavengers might find them and use/sell them.


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I can't believe, that in this era, auto centers will take back your old oil, but drug stores won't take back old drugs.


Apparently, there aren't any Federal laws covering this. Perhaps states handle it.



What are your state laws governing this?



NJ doesn't seem to have one (the home of many drug companies).

[A Little Weird]

1. It would make sense for pharmacies to take them

I don't know what the laws are (if there are any) but I ran across the same problem. After my grandmother passed away, there was a lot of her old medicine left that I didn't know how to dispose of properly. I eventually called the county health department and they told me about a community take-back drive that was coming up. There were drop off locations at a few locations - the health department and police station and I forget the other one.

Anyway, I was eventually able to dispose of them but it was a pain. They only have those drives a couple times a year and they are not well-advertised. It would make so much more sense to drop off to a pharmacy or even a doctor's office.

[kcr]

3. You would think it would be easier

given the problems with that go along with failing to dispose of properly. The media lately has hyped the problem of rx med abuse and making disposal easier would help cut down on that. But governments sure seem quick to pass laws making it harder for those who need them to get them in the first place.

[Matariki]

2. Try calling around?

Other drugstores or your county's waste management. Bartell's takes unused drugs in Washington, but I think they may be kind of a local chain.

[libodem]

4. I think our disposal

Is at the police department. They are supposed to take everything, no questions. Just drop it in a barrel. It is hard to know what to do. I used to teach an assistance with meds class. I thought the cat litter method sounded best because there are so few good alternatives. It could still leach into ground water.

[Downwinder]

5. Try to get rid of disposable syringes and needles.

[williesgirl]

9. your local hospital should take these.

[Downwinder]

10. Tried both they said no. Also got refused by the Health Department

and pharmacies.

[jmowreader]

6. My state law says take 'em to the local police station

I can understand why drug stores won't take back old drugs: when was the last time a tweaker broke into an auto parts store to steal the oil?

[ErikJ]

7. Dont take drugs/medicines in the first place. America is WAY over-prescribed.

[TransitJohn]

11. I was wondering how long until this least-helpful reply would be made.

Thanks.

[Lordquinton]

8. In Contra Costa County California

You can take them to any police station or hospital for disposal, and there is also a hazardous materials disposal station (that stocks free cans of paint!)

Contact the local waste treatment plant and see what they want you to do with it. Don't flush it though, to filter out drug contaminants is incredibly cost prohibitive, so they can't do it for anything but a small town, lower capacity treatment plant. Plus there are some chemicals that still remain potent at parts per million that are undetectable to most analysis.

[etherealtruth]

12. you bring up a very real problem

The advice we get is to mix old drugs with wet coffee grounds (destroying them for would be scavengers) and tossing them in the trash ... this is better than flushing them or washing them down the drain ... but, is not a good solution.

Requiring pharmacies to take the drugs and dispose of them is a good idea. It may be costly, acknowledging that controlled drugs need to be accounted for