Category: Medication Disposal

Unused Medication Disposal Articles

You wouldn’t pick up a pill off the sidewalk and pop it into your mouth, so why would you want unknown types of drug residue in your drinking water? Of course, you don’t, but it’s happening anyway.

In 2008, public health officials were concerned when water quality studies found that 46 million Americans had trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in their drinking water. Two-thirds of Americans don’t safely dispose of unused/unwanted medications, not realizing they could be polluting the environment and contributing to the country’s prescription drug epidemic. Don’t be part of the problem!

The articles in this section describe the different types of pharmaceutical wastes, explain the health and environmental effects of unsafe medication disposal, and discuss solutions for safe, sustainable drug disposal. These two infographics introduce you to simple and safe medication disposal solutions and highlight the dangers of improper disposal of medical and pharmaceutical wastes.

In many cases, prescription drug abuse starts in the home when friends or family find unused/unwanted medications and decide to sample them. That’s why industry and communities are working together to meet the challenge of safe prescription drug disposal – particularly as it pertains to the opioid epidemic. It will take more than a single village to fight this: all stakeholders have to work together, all across the country.

Proper disposal is a critical component, and individuals have a variety of options. Drug takeback programs are the most effective disposal solutions to help prevent prescription drug abuse in the home. Many communities offer semi-annual drug-takeback days, but that could mean that unused medication stays in the home for months. With a mailback prescription drug disposal option, however, you don’t have to wait for a specific “takeback” day and make a special trip to a disposal site.

Individual households aren’t covered by state or federal regulations (although some communities do regulate what can be put in regular household trash), but healthcare facilities must carefully monitor their pharmaceutical management practices. Administrators need to stay alert to regulatory changes, like the latest disposal regulations from the EPA and DEA that affect senior living facilities.

The articles in this section will help you understand the issue so you can do the right thing.