Got Old Medications? Don't Flush Them

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) says around 4 billion prescriptions are written each year - and about a third of them aren't used. That's about 1.3 billion. The thought of even a quarter of that medication in the water supply is downright scary.

So what to do? If you're like me, you have bottles a quarter, a half, or mostly full of pills you're no longer taking. I have lots - both medications I tried that quickly showed they weren't good, or those that were discontinued after longer use. Some are also "as needed" medications that are too old to use safely any more. I've never gotten rid of any of them, and now it's gotten to the point where they're taking up a lot of space. But what to do with them? Flushing them isn't safe, and neither is just tossing the bottles in the trash where the meds might be found and used.

There is a new program called Dispose My Meds run by the NPCA where local pharmacies take your unused prescriptions and send them to medical waste facilities. You can see whether there's a participating pharmacy near you at www.disposemymeds.org. For me, the closest one is almost 20 miles away, but since I have so many old prescriptions to dispose of, one trip will be worth it to get them safely off my hands.

Since the program is still getting off the ground, it may be hard to find a drugstore close enough to you. In that case, it's easy to follow the federal guidelines for medication disposal:

1. Take your prescription drugs out of their original containers
2. Mix drugs with an undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds
3. Put the mixture into a disposable container with a lid or a Ziploc-type bag
4. Conceal or remove any personal information, including Rx number, on the empty containers by covering it with black permanent marker or duct tape, or by scratching it off
5. Place the sealed container with the mixture, and the empty drug containers, in the trash

There are a few medications that should be flushed. These are drugs that could be especially harmful to a child, pet, or anyone else if taken accidentally.

It's easy to take prevent potential problems with old and unused prescriptions. Please be responsible with yours.

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