[Pharmwaste] Drug Disposal: Medicine is no Ordinary Trash (collection event in Tuscaloosa, AL)

[Tenace, Laurie]

"Incineration is the best method for destroying meds, but it's not easily
available. And it is not recommended that people do it on their own."
For those dealing with homeowners using burn barrels, this is another topic
that hasn't been discussed on the list serve before - Laurie

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070111/NEWS/701110
305/1005/SPORTS0106

DRUG DISPOSAL: Medicine is no ordinary trash


By Sarah Bruyn Jones 
Expired medications. Whether they're a few extra pills from a prescription or
a drug that just didn't work properly, it doesn't matter why your medicine
cabinet is filled with unused medicine. What does matter is how it is
disposed of.

Flushing unused prescribed or over-the-counter, medications down the toilet
is bad for the environment. The same is true for pouring liquid meds down a
drain. Tossing medicines in the trash may cause less ground and water
pollution, but it's considered unsafe.

Incineration is the best method for destroying meds, but it's not easily
available. And it is not recommended that people do it on their own.

According to the Alabama Board of Pharmacy, it is illegal for a pharmacist to
take back unused medications. Additionally, there are federal laws that make
returning pills to a drug store difficult.

Some cities are beginning to sponsor household waste management programs that
include the disposal of pills along with turpentine, oil and other products.
Tuscaloosa, however, is not among them.

Instead, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program and the Foster Grandparent
Program at FOCUS on Senior Citizens have teamed up with the West Alabama
Narcotics Task Force, Safe Kids and TRIAD to hold a one-day drug roundup on
Tuesday.

Nancy Rogers of FOCUS organized the roundup. She said it is open to everyone
and that the organizers are interested in making it an annual event. The
event was held once before -- in 2005 -- Rogers said.

The drugs will be stored with evidence and destroyed at an incinerator. Twice
a year, drugs collected by police are taken to be burned. The roundup does
not cost taxpayers any additional money, Snyder said.

"We'll take everything that they bring," said Capt. Jeff Snyder, commander of
the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force.

While Snyder said he prefers people to drop off unwanted drugs at the annual
roundup, residents can bring unused medicine by the Tuscaloosa Police
Department if they are in a pinch.

"If we can be assistance, we will," Snyder said. "I just don't want to be a
dumping site for everything. But, if the public doesn't know what [the drugs]
are and needs assistance, we'll be happy to take a look at it and help out."

Environmental concerns

Low concentrations of chemicals commonly found in prescription and
over-the-counter medications were found in 80 percent of streams sampled in
the United States, according to a study published by the U.S. Geological
Survey in 2002.

The study sampled 139 streams in 30 states, but the evidence was enough to
force officials to reconsider disposing medications in sewer drains. That
practice had been the recommendation of poison control centers for years.

Researchers found that medicine in sewage drains increased the likelihood of
environmental exposure to residues that cannot be removed by sewage treatment
plants.

In the fall, the Environmental Protection Agency and several other federal
government agencies, solicited researchers to develop take-back pilot
programs. At the time, the EPA intended to award three grants of about
$300,000 each. Washington has proposed a statewide program that could net
more than 45 tons of unused drugs, according to the EPA.

To toss or not to toss

The issue of pitching unused medicine into the trash doesn't appear to have
the same environmental concerns as flushing drugs.

In fact, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management
said its landfill linings protect unwanted toxins from discarded meds from
seeping into groundwater.

While environmental concerns may not be an issue once drugs reach a landfill,
safety concerns do arise before the trash ever gets to the landfill.

In the age of identity theft, labels from prescriptions can end up in the
wrong hands. Even if that doesn't happen, a trash can filled with pills could
allow people or animals to get to the drugs.

Poisoning of animals, both domestic and wild, is serious. But officials also
are concerned about accidental poisoning of curious children who could sift
through a household trash bin.

Law enforcement also has an interest in the issue. Prescription drugs,
especially controlled narcotics, tossed into a Dumpster could end up in the
hands of addicts rummaging for a fix. Additionally, many control substance
prescriptions, such as the painkiller OxyContin, have monetary street value.

If you do decide to throw drugs into the garbage, experts with the
Therapeutic Research Center recommend taking the following steps:
Keep drugs in their original childproof container.
Remove or obliterate the patient's name and other identifying information
from the container.
Place liquids in a plastic sealable bag.
Make the drugs as unpalatable as possible by adding a nontoxic spice, water
or kitty litter to the container.
Place the drugs in durable packaging like an unmarked brown paper bag.
Put in the garbage as close to pickup time as possible.

Laurie J. Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
PH: (850) 245-8759
FAX: (850) 245-8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us  
 
view our mercury web pages at: 
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm 

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