[Pharmwaste] Better Environmental Benefit

Sun Oct 26 14:29:40 EDT 2008

Good Afternoon,

Is incineration or recycling better?  I am not sure the  question was 
answered. 
Is anyone working on an alternative container for  pharmaceuticals?  One that 
is environmentally friendly?

Ms. Smith, I appreciate your concern about removing   medication from the 
original container because of pill identification  should someone need that 
information. Privacy is also a concern and the  law.  

 We conduct a program called "Operation Medicine Cabinet" in  Naples, 
Florida. Our County Wide take-back program includes Collier County Law  Enforcement 
and DrugFreeCollier (Substance Abuse Coalition)volunteer  coverage. 

Our intent is to educate the community about the alarming  dangers when 
children take medications from the household medicine  cabinets. We instruct on 
locking up medications one needs and bringing in  for incineration those that 
they do not need.  We collect all medications  including controlled substances.

  Medications are deposited by the person who owns  the medication into a 
secured cardboard box.  We ask that they pour the  pills directly into the box 
and discard or take home the containers. ( The  cardboard box is designed for 
easy transport and incineration by our Law  Enforcement Officers)

Citizens may leave bottles, we black out labels and separate  plastic 
containers for recycling as much as possible.  We tell citizens to  take their 
bottles home if they wish. We do not count or identify pills, we  collect all as 
abandoned property to assure personal privacy.

If recycling vs incineration is not the best choice please let us  know. 
Veora M.Little, CRNA
_veoralittle at aol.com_ (mailto:veoralittle at aol.com) 

In a message dated 10/24/2008 10:24:56 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  cs
mith at pharmecology.com writes:

Hi  Catherine, 
Lynn  Rubenstein, Executive Director of the Northeast Recycling Council, did 
some  extensive research on this a few years ago. You might check with her at 
_lynn at nerc.org_ (mailto:lynn at nerc.org)  and  (802) 254-3636.  >From another 
perspective, as a pharmacist I am  always extremely nervous when drugs are 
removed from their primary container  and their identity is lost. Should any 
diversion occur, resulting in overdose  or poisoning, it is impossible to treat the 
victim without adequate  information. This would also pertain to pets, etc. 
And there is also the  privacy issue regarding personal information.  
Best  regards,  

Charlotte  A. Smith, R. Ph., M.S., HEM 
President 
PharmEcology  Associates, LLC 
12229  W. North Ave., Suite 2 
Wauwatosa,  WI 53226 
414-292-3959 
414-915-4026(cell) 
csmith at pharmecology.com 
Visit  us at ASHP  Booth #1727

From:  pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us  
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of  Catherine Zimmer
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 9:46  AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject:  [Pharmwaste] Better Environmental Benefit

Hi all,
Has anyone done, or  does anyone know of any research related to the 
environmental benefits or  life-cycle of recycling used prescription bottles vs. 
incineration of  them?  Here are the issues: 
    1.  Recycling  of the bottles, while reclaiming the polypropylene 
plastic, is likely  down-cycling and the pharmaceutical residue in the bottles is 
likely sent to  wastewater.  
    2.  Incineration  of the bottles, while has some energy benefit, has ash 
and air emission  concerns. 
Thanks for your help!  

-- 
Catherine Zimmer
Health Care Specialist

Minnesota Technical Assistance Program
University of Minnesota
612.624.4635, 800.247.0015
_http://www.mntap.umn.edu_ (http://www.mntap.umn.edu/) 

Helping Minnesota businesses maximize resource efficiency, increase energy 
efficiency, reduce costs, and prevent pollution

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