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

[gressitt at uninets.net]

Along the lines of the home-barbecue approach, there is currently a
commercial product at www.drugterminator.com that somehow I can't imagine
any state DEP approving, but someone came up with it. I don't think it
would pass muster in Maine. Stevan Gressitt

> "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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