[Pharmwaste] Mallinckrodt donations continue

Mon Oct 17 22:03:15 EDT 2016

I think mail back to a place that destroys the medication is an OK option for people who don't have access to collection locally. And by that, I mean within their usual service center area, which is sometimes 30-50 miles away in some areas of MN, but generally within 10-20. This is not a place you need to drive to every week, it is a once every few years thing, or to do when running into town for other errands.

I ran numbers before when people on the list serve claimed that the costs of pouches were lower than a collection point because I knew they weren't. I ran similar simple calculations that Margaret has provided with similar results. So, thank you Margaret!

I believe they are especially cost prohibitive for anyone who is doing a first time clean-out of the medicine cabinet, or for someone whose family member dies leaving 10 or more left over prescriptions, patches, syringes, impossible foil packs, etc.

Government and non-profit collection options don't seem to get the attention that these pouches do and it is surely interesting. The VA here in St. Cloud has their own collection container, people just bag up what they have and put it in the bin.
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From: Pharmwaste [pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] on behalf of Margaret Shield [margaret.shield at cehstrategies.com]
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2016 7:36 PM
To: 'Ed Gottlieb'; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: Re: [Pharmwaste] Mallinckrodt donations continue

The tragedy of prescription drug abuse, addiction, and overdose deaths that is devastating our communities is prompting such actions.
I believe that saving a life is priceless.    I also did want to think about the impact and sustainability of this approach, so I did some quick calculations on the population reach and estimated costs.
(In this, I’m setting aside consideration of the product’s effectiveness or appropriateness in the solid waste stream.)

Population reach:  80,000 pouches provides a one-time use for just under 1% of Virginia’s 8.3 million population.

Manufacturer’s list price of the Deterra pouch for maximum of 45 pills is $5.99.
80,000 pouches x $5.99 = $479,200.
But it’s a bulk purchase, so let’s say there’s a 30% discount, making total cost roughly $335,440.

If the unwanted pill is a 20 mg oxycodone and the user puts the max of 45 pills in each pouch, that’s 45 x 20 mg = 900 mg.
900 mg = 0.001984 pounds of medicine per pouch x 80,000 pouches = 158.72 pounds of medicines

$335,440 / 158.72 pounds is $2,113.40 per pound of medicine.

Secure medicine drop box programs cost on the order of 400 to 1000 fold less per pound (ie. $2-5 per pound), and can easily accept much large of amounts of medicines than 45 pills.
Mailers are more expensive per pound than drop-off programs, but even they are hugely more cost effective than these pouches. Programs that collect unwanted medicines through secure drop boxes or mailers utilize high temperature incineration for final disposal, which the DEA recognizes as non-retrievable destruction.

VA’s AG is accomplishing some good education about the dangers of medicine abuse with this program but it’s not sustainable based on the cost.

Margaret Shield, PhD
Community Environmental Health Strategies, LLC
Smart Science & Policy for Our Health and Environment
Seattle, WA
margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com<mailto:margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com>
mobile:  206-499-5452
www.CEHstrategies.com<http://www.CEHstrategies.com>

From: Pharmwaste [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Ed Gottlieb
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2016 5:33 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Mallinckrodt donations continue

Mallinckrodt donates 80,000 pouches to the AG of VA.

A minor point...the story incorrectly states that the activated carbon will "break down" drugs.  That statement is a hot link to the Mallinckrodt website; which correctly says, "deactivate".

http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke/attorney-general-secures-drug-disposal-kits-to-curb-opioid-crisis/article_5a32fe4d-0378-5d99-9a4f-f445ec674136.html
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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