Recycling prescription drugs would save money, water


What was in my local paper today: March 13, 2008

DENVER — A Thornton lawmaker says a bill that would require pharmacies to take back hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of unused prescription drugs each year would save the state money and protect public water supplies.

Democratic Rep. Lois Tochtrop said a bill approved in 2005 that allowed people to return medication isn't working because pharmacies refuse to take back the pills.

She said she learned last summer from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment that some of those pills are ending up in wastewater and drinking water.

A recent investigation by The Associated Press revealed that a vast array of pharmaceuticals have been detected in minute levels in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas.

"There have been rising levels of pharmaceuticals. This deals with both problems, the high cost of medication and the water supply," she said.

the rest here-
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...64/detail.html