New Year Med Cleanup
- Details
- Published: Friday, 15 February 2013 07:39
- Written by 340B Editor
The new year brings with it a great opportunity to discuss with patients how to best dispose of unused or expired medications they may have at home. It is very important to educate patients on the safe ways to get rid of these drugs, and why it is not always the best idea to just throw them in the trash or flush them down the toilet.
There are three main reasons why safer means of disposal are needed. The first is that pills thrown in the trash could be stolen by people with the intention of using or selling them illegally. The second is that these pills in the trash could be accidentally found and consumed by children or animals. Last but not least is the concern for the environment, as medications exposed to water or landfills could seep into the groundwater and cause health hazards to humans, plants, or other wildlife.1
There are a number of ways that your patients can safely dispose of their unwanted medications. If their medication comes with any disposal guidelines, they should follow those; for example some medications do recommend flushing down the toilet as the preferred means of disposal. If this information is not available to the patient they can look for drug take-back programs in their area. Information about these programs can be found by calling their local city or county government’s household trash and recycling services (found in the blue pages of the phone book) or looking at the Drug Enforcement Administration website for National Prescription Drug Take Back Days (www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov). If neither of these options is available to the patient, they can always take the medications out of their original containers, crush them, and mix with coffee grounds, kitty litter, or another undesirable substance and seal it in a plastic bag which can be thrown in the garbage. When disposing of the containers, tell your patients to scratch out any identifying information on the label before doing so.2 Finally, remind your patients that their local pharmacist would be happy to answer any other questions they may have about cleaning out their drug cabinet.
- SMARxT Disposal. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, American Pharmacists Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Web. 29 Dec. 2013.
- “How to Dispose of Unused Medicines”. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, April 2011. Web. 29 Dec. 2013.