By Dan Estabrook - September 17, 2008
We've watched the scene in countless movies -- the soon-to-be-discovered drug user flushing his stash down the toilet. With the sound of law enforcement breaking down the door, the evidence disappears into the sewer system with a simple flush of the john. But, how many of us have done the same with expired prescription drugs? And, how many health care providers do the same?
Earlier this week, the Associated Press released an investigative
report on the amount of drugs we all throw into the toilet and consequently into all those pipes and waterways that connect to the system. While few of the U.S.'s 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care homes keep data, the AP's report projects that 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging is dumped annually, affecting water supplies for at least 46 million Americans.
According the the report, "These discarded medications are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed or unneeded. Some are simply unused because patients refuse to take them, can't tolerate them or die with nearly full 90-day supplies of multiple prescriptions on their nightstands."
Researchers are finding traces of pharmaceuticals in our drinking water samples, and concentration of these drugs are affecting wildlife and other life. Harvard Health has reported that antibiotics that end up in sewer systems kill helpful bacteria and pass largely untouched through sewage treatment plants. Once in landfills, drugs can seep into the water supply. So, what are we to do?
The best solution for large institutional disposal of prescription drugs is incineration -- and the FDA is looking at regulations to control drug disposal (currently, none exist). While the FDA looks at the big picture, I want to offer solutions for our own individual disposal -- after all, collectively, we are all adding to this problem, too.
It's always a good idea to clean your medicine chests of old prescriptions. Here's what to do with them:
Ask your pharmacist to see if he or she can take back medications.
Call your city or state to ask about disposal programs.
If you must put the medicines in the trash, keep them in their original containers. Leave labels on, but scratch out your name to protect your identity. Add some water to the pills, and put some flour in liquids. Then, conceal the vials by hiding them in empty margarine tubs or paper bags and surround in container with used kitty litter or coffee grounds to keep addicts away -- remember, you will use materials that you would normally divert to recycling, so this option is the least green (this all sounds a bit like drug smuggling, as well)...
Here in Northern California,
one community is doing something about the disposal problem. Because of laws prohibiting anyone receiving a narcotic or other controlled substance from someone else, options are limited. So, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Adrienne Tissier worked with the DEA and local law enforcement to place
local drop boxes at local police departments around the county. The program has cost the county less than $7,000 and includes law enforcement staff hauling the drugs to a nearby medical waste disposal company that then incinerates them.
Maybe a similar program would work in your community?
Thankfully, there are easy solutions to a serious and dangerous problem - please spread the word!
Sources: Associated Press, Palo Alto Daily News, Harvard Health Publications
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