[Pharmwaste] Items Accepted at Permanent Collection

[Pete Pasterz]

Fred, your pipe dream sounds like my nightmare.  Please have a conversation with HHW personnel (such as myself) who have concerns about becoming known as "the place where the drugs are"...even with Law enforcement present during open hours, and even if the drugs are removed immediately upon the end of the collection day.  I don’t particularly relish the thought of convincing some strung out kid with a gun as I leave work one late evening that they are no longer here.

We have hard enough time keeping our budgets from shrinking, especially in this economy where local government is the lagging indicator of the economy's health.  HHW's were established in a time when local governments were accustomed to accepting the role of disposer of last resort for any and all of society's cast offs.   With the surge in interest in EPR programs for problem items such as batteries, electronics, paint, etc...I think that drug disposal should likewise be the responsibility of the manufacturers who invent, market, and profit by them.  Why should a waste management, water treatment or police department's budget be obligated??


 Pete Pasterz, NCQRP  SCTSOS
Cabarrus County Waste Reduction
PO BOX 707
Concord, NC  28026
704-920-3280
www.cabarruscounty.us/waste
If you're not for ZERO Waste, how much Waste ARE you for?



-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Fredrick L. Miller
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 1:21 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Items Accepted at Permanent Collection

Since you asked the question, Margaret, it's my opinion the best current way to handle the problem is to use the HHW program with cooperation from state Board of Pharmacy (or equivalent in other jurisdictions) to provide supporting expertise and deal with custody of controlled substances, and with funding from industry.

Here's why that makes sense to me.

Citizens in many if not most jurisdictions in America are already accustomed to recycling and HHW management through their local programs.
They can identify where and when to take the dangerous things they no longer want in their homes.

Many political subdivisions have adequate secure facilities for HHW operations so it would be relatively inexpensive to add a small pharmaceutical management unit to the facility.  Those with mobile programs such as King County's "Wastemobile" would face a bit more of a challenge but it should still be doable.

Having healthcare folks instead of police visible at the collection point would encourage a certain sector of the population which might not otherwise participate.  Further, this provides staff with much greater understanding of the (legitimate) materials being collected.  Something would still have to be done for contraband and oddball items but the vast majority of the materials would be appropriately handled.
Healthcare staff could be scheduled for specific days/events to maximize their utility while minimizing cost.

Cost of operations (cost to funding entities) would be minimized due to economies of scale and synergies captured by utilizing existing facilities and staff who already have appropriate education, experience, and training.

That's my pipe dream and I'm sticking with it until someone comes up with a better answer.

Fred Miller

p.s. Fred Gabriel is correct to point out that rules re. HHW vary from state to state.  This is yet another reason I believe the HHW folks are best suited for dealing with the issue.


-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Shield, Margaret
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2012 8:21 PM
To: ANGELA Deckers; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Items Accepted at Permanent Collection

Lots of good comments in this email string, but here are some additional thoughts about rationales for collecting all medicines that may resonate with your local law enforcement partners.

1.  Public safety reasons for medicine take-back programs include preventing accidental poisonings, especially among youth and seniors.
Accidental poisonings in the home from over-the-counter medicines is a big problem, especially among children.  Check the statistics in your area or your state for more detail.
In WA state:
32% of child poisoning deaths in Washington were caused by someone else's prescription medication and 26% were caused by over-the-counter medications.
Source: Sabel, J. (2004). Washington State Childhood Injury Report - Poisoning Chapter. WA DOH. Available online at:
http://www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/emstrauma/injury/pubs/wscir/WSCIR_Poisoning.p
df

2. Some over-the-counter medicines - notably, dextromethorphan cough
suppressants- are abused, especially by youth, and therefore are also valuable to collect to prevent  misuse and entry into the spiral of drug abuse.

3.   To be effective, use of medicine take-back programs to reduce
access to potentially dangerous medicines in our homes and communities need to be straightforward for consumers.  i.e. Keep it simple.  Many people are unsure of the difference between prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs, or have items in their medicine cabinets that they can't identify as one or the other.  This is confirmed by the FDA's education efforts trying to explain what is an over-the-counter drug versus a prescription drug.  Better to accept all drugs than to put an additional barrier on the consumer (or onto the collector) of having to sort out drugs into categories.

As Angela already mentioned, the environmental considerations for proper disposal of waste pharmaceuticals extend to all medicines, not just prescription drugs.

It's true that accepting all medicines will bring in larger volumes, and result in higher disposal costs.  And that puts a burden onto local law enforcement at a time when their budgets are shrinking.  Which bring us back to a key question in all this - who should be paying to provide safe, secure medicine take-back programs for our communities?

Margaret Shield PhD, Policy Liaison
Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County
(c) 206-265-9732
Protect Our Kids, Families, and Environment - www.TakeBackYourMeds.org


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