DEQ helping to Cure the Problem of Discarded Pills

We now know that it is environmentally unsafe to flush expired medications down the toilet or throw them into the trash. Yet, keeping unwanted drugs in unlocked medicine cabinets can also pose a risk of accidental contact with children or animals, or an invitation for illicit use. So what do we do?

The Department of Environmental Quality is offering a cure.

Law enforcement agencies are eligible for one-time grants, of up to $1,000, to establish a “Drug Collection for Proper Disposal” program modeled after the two that already exist in Utah. The Salt Lake City Police Department and the Salt Lake County Sherriff’s Office each have a highly secure collection bin in the lobbies of their stations where consumers bring unwanted medications and drop them in the box. The materials are then transported to a hazardous waste site for incineration.

“The collection programs that exist are hugely successful,” said Leah Ann Lamb, director of DEQ’s Planning and Public Affairs, which administers the grants. “We are encouraging more law enforcement agencies across the state to take advantage of these grants to help in a statewide effort to have more medicine disposal sites.”

Here’s the problem. Flushing medicines down the toilet or sink enter the water because wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove them. Evidence of the medication’s harmful effects has been surfacing in our waterways. Putting medicines in the garbage or keeping them in an unlocked medicine cabinet create an invitation for abuse. One in five teens report intentionally misusing someone else’s prescription drugs to get high, many of these are obtained by raiding a medicine cabinet or obtaining them from a friend.

Local health departments welcome the idea of collection bins. Because of the strict laws governing the handling of prescription drugs, the take-back collection programs must be administered by law enforcement agencies. Otherwise, the options for disposal of drugs are limited to the trash, if it is mixed with kitty litter or coffee grounds and put in a sealed container before throwing them away.

A more painless way is to drop the drugs off at a collection bin. To apply for the grant, law enforcement agencies must simply:

Establish a “Drug Collection for Proper Disposal” policy, which includes handling protocols and final destruction of the drugs through incineration at an approved hazardous waste facility;
Place a clearly marked, highly secured collection bin that is accessible to the public;
Residents be allowed to drop off the drugs free of charge with no personal information provided;
Report to DEQ the pounds of medications collected; and
Advertise the program to the public.

“We think this is a win for the health and safety and a win for the environment,” Lamb said. For more information on the proper disposal of unused medications go to: www.medicationdisposal.utah.gov.