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What do you do with your extra meds?

Hi,
What do you do with your extra meds? :Hum:

:icon_idea: I put mine in the trash, hoping that they will go to the landfill and eventually deteriorate. (I heard that this may be a bad idea if you have pets who like to go through your trash.)

:icon_idea: Putting them in the toilet doesn't make sense to me because meds are starting to show up in our water supply.

:icon_idea: Some people say to bring the meds back to the pharmacy so that they can destroy them.

:icon_idea: Or we could bring them to a hazardous waste site like we are supposed to do with used toner, computer parts, cell phones, paint cans.

I need something simple.
Here's an article from Real Age that came to my mailbox.
M.

http://www.realage.com/news_features...?v=1&cid=17856

Quote:

Trash Meds Safely
What's the best plan for getting rid of old or leftover medicines?
Answer this multiple-choice question to find out.

A. Keep them at home as a backup.
B. Give them to friends or family with similar conditions.
C. Flush them down the toilet.
D. Return them to a healthcare provider or pharmacy.

Returning leftover or old medicines to a doctor or pharmacy is your best bet for safely disposing of them. For years, some doctors advised flushing medicines, but we now know that's not good for the environment. Same goes for rinsing them down the drain.

Eventually, those medicines may make their way into lakes, rivers, and even tap water. Unfortunately, about half of people dump their old meds in the toilet. Check out the latest news on sewer systems and water pollution.

Pharmacies that accept old meds will incinerate them -- the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of them -- or treat them as medical waste. But because of state laws, not all pharmacies will accept old meds.

So what's the next best option? Don't just toss them in the trash. Contact your local waste-management company for guidance. They may have an incineration facility for medications, or they may treat certain meds as hazardous waste.

if a drug doesn't agree with me, I give it to my doctor so he can give it to another patient.
bobby

I was putting them in the toilet...never thought about the over all water supply....
~sigh
bizi

My pharmacy won't take them. I have given unused meds to family members with similar conditions and that have been prescribed the same meds.

I will keep some for a year, just to make sure that the docs don't prescribe them again and then throw them in the trash (in their bottles) when they expire. Something did not sit well with me about flushing them, but I never once thought of them making it through into our water supply. Distressing thought.

maybe mrsd will chime in and help with this.

i'm going to send her a little pm...:)

new guidelines....

are to put them in hazardous trash (if you have that in your pick up.)

The other option is to dissolve them in water, and mix with cat litter or
sawdust and bag up and put in trash.

Flushing them is no longer recommended. They are polluting the waterways
around the world and affecting wildlife. They are NOT removed from water treatment facilities.

The APhA is now recommending not flushing:
As are others:
http://www.pollutiononline.com/conte...&VNETCOOKIE=NO

My Doctor always says to just bring them back. I guess they have a way of disposing them properly.

Nikko