[Pharmwaste] Est cost of take back per site?

Ed Gottlieb EGottlieb at cityofithaca.org
Sat Jan 31 10:29:30 EST 2015


The pharmaceutical lobby claims that the cost of take back programs is too high.

I'd like to estimate what it would cost and see how that compares, percentage wise, to other industries with product stewardship programs.

I don't know what percent of gross sales are used to pay for outreach, waste collection and disposal by industries with lifecycle programs.  Maybe the folks at PSI have some numbers?  Does the percent vary widely or are they in the same ballpark?  Could a pharmaceutical program be done for a similar or lower percentage?

A quick check shows there are approximately 67,000 pharmacies (Wiki) and 16,000 nursing homes (CDC) in the U.S. Couldn't find a number for narcotic treatment centers.  It is not likely that every pharmacy, long term care facility, and narcotic treatment center will become a collection site, even if the cost of the program is covered.  I'm going to optimistically assume high participation rate of 85,000 collection sites.

In 2009, gross sales of pharmaceuticals in the US totalled 300 billion dollars [http://www.bls.gov/ppi/pharmpricescomparison.pdf].  With the growth of health care costs, it is safe to assume that this is now a low number.

Not yet knowing what percent of gross sales other industries put into collection and disposal, I'm going to make a big assumption.  I'd guess that most people would agree that 1/10 of 1% of gross sales is not a lot to cover the costs of a take back program.  Using my assumptions, 300 million dollars is roughly $3500 per collection site per year.

Obviously, the start-up cost for a pharmaceutical program is significantly higher than the ongoing costs since drop boxes need to be purchased, staff needs to be trained, and outreach materials developed.  We should also assume there will be ongoing government oversight costs that need to be covered.

There is an economy of scale that applies here.  For example, if the manufactures chose to work together, one outreach program could be used nationwide, tweaking it for maximum effectiveness in different regions.  Also, the cost of a collection box (roughly 7-9 hundred) will come down some with large volume purchases.

Are my assumptions and quoted numbers reasonable?  How does the $3500/site figure compare to the start up and maintenance costs of your take back program?

Your thoughts are appreciated!

Ed Gottlieb
Chair, Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal
Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
525 3rd Street
Ithaca, NY  14850
(607) 273-8381
fax: (607) 273-8433
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