SMARxT Disposal Campaign
I wrote a little while ago about how pharmaceuticals are polluting our water supplies. When we dispose of pharmaceuticals through our water systems it not only impacts water habitats but it is causing mutations in wildlife as well.
Well the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is very much aware of this issue and they have partnered with the American Pharmacists Association, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America to create the SMARXT DISPOSAL campaign. Their mission is to "will inform people on how to safely dispose of medicines in the trash, and highlight the environmental threat posed from flushing medicines down the toilet".
Here's a quick list of dos and don'ts they've outlined below:
- DO NOT FLUSH unused medications or POUR them down a sink or drain. Consumers were once advised to flush their expired or unused medications; however, recent environmental impact studies report that this could be having an adverse impact on the environment. While the rule of thumb is not to flush, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that certain medications should be flushed due to their abuse potential. Read the instructions on your medication and talk to your pharmacist.
- Dispose of Unused Medication in Household Trash. When discarding unused medications, ensure you protect children and pets from potentially negative effects
- Pour medication in a sealable plastic bag. If medication is a solid (pill, liquid capsule, etc.), crush it or add water to dissolve it.
- Add kitty litter, sawdust, coffee grounds (or any material that mixes with the medication and makes it less appealing for pets or children to eat) to the plastic bag.
- Seal the plastic bag and put it in the trash.
- Remove and destroy ALL identifying personal information (prescription label) from the medication container.
- Check for Approved State and Local Collection Programs. In certain states, you may be able to take your unused medications to your community pharmacy.
- Consult Your Pharmacist with any questions.
Visit the SMARxT Disposal website for more information.
add to del.icio.us
add to digg
add to yahoo
related at technorati
share on facebook
Check our most impactful articles and see how popular these opinions are with you.
Will others follow in your footsteps? Share your thoughts and ideas for changing the world.
The Smart Disposal campaign? It's great this issue is finally coming to light in the mainstream press, and a conversation is beginning on what to do about pharmaseutical disposal. But this issue is more complex than people just flushing their meds.
Asking people to dispose of drugs with their household trash instead of down the drain is like a decision to put neuclear reactor waste in the side of a mountain instead of just a disposal container with a skull and crossbones. It may delay contamination, but there are no isolated quarantines in nature. Landfills aren't the solution. We should be considering the life-cycle view of the contaminants we're creating.
I am not an expert on medication disposal, but I have been doing a lot of reading up on this issue and, based on current technologies, putting meds in sealed plastic bags and sending them off to the landfill does seem to be the best solution.
Modern landfills are required to have a lining placed in them to prevent leachate (the fluid coming from the landfill) from getting into ground or surface water. This may not be the ultimate solution (and I hope it isn't)but this is an interim measure which prevents the direct deposit of medication into waterways. Studies have been done to examine the amount of medications in the leachate and have shown there is a significant reduction in the medications measured and that these medications have also had an opportunity to degrade into less biologically active components. In addition, these studies looked at the amount of medication found in the leachate when the medication was not contained in anything but placed directly into the landfill material (garbage). Thus, placing the medications in a sealed plastic bag should further reduce the likelihood of medication finding its way into the leachate.
However, a lot of research is being done to find better solutions for disposing of medications and other hazardous wastes and, hopefully, we will have a better option soon.
Other options that are currently available:
Take-back Programs
At this time, although regulations vary among U.S. states, most pharmacies cannot accept medication returns from patients. And, take-back programs have a number of obstacles that make them unattractive to a lot of pharmacies. With so many products and formulations on the market today, and with the additional burden of understanding health and safety rules, environmental rules, Drug Enforcement Agency rules, and other guidelines, trying to determine disposal of pharmaceutical wastes can be confusing and costly. However, take-back programs are beginning to make headway in different parts of the Country. This may, ultimately be the best option, however most of these medications are incinerated which may also be a problem (see Incineration, below). If we could find a way to ensure that all these returned (non-expired) medications could go to the needy, now that might be a great way to solve a large part of this problem. I believe there are a (very) few programs that do this but maybe this will change. However, it may require the creation of a Federal program to oversee either of these options.
Incineration
Incineration is a viable option but also has drawbacks. Incinerators vary in the technologies they use and, because of this, in their ability to reduce or eliminate a medication's potency. There are also concerns that medicines may become airborne and escape an incinerator's air pollution control devices. Aerial emissions of the medications which are broken down into their basar products many of which can be elements such as metals producing their own toxic affects. Although these may be small quantities, most medications are manufactured to have their maximum effect, and to be biologically active, at low doses. Secondly, the availability of high-temperature incinerators is a limiting factor and many of these incinerators are running at maximum capacity already. I think more studies need to be conducted to determine the benefits and costs of this option.