Think Globally
What Happens to Pharmaceuticals?
Typically, pharmaceuticals are not entirely consumed for one of three reasons:
- Change in prescription
- Improvement in the patient’s health or death
- Expiration date passed
So where are all these unused medications going? Of 500 patients surveyed in 2004:
- 54 percent disposed of medications in the trash
- 35.4 percent flushed drugs down the toilet or sink
- 7.2 percent did not dispose of medications
- 2.0 percent used all medication prior to expiration
- 1.4 percent returned medications to the pharmacy
It’s important to remember that many PPCPs are biologically active. Simply put, that means the ingredients can cause problems in humans and animals.
For this reason, flushing or tossing unwanted medications is dangerous. Unwanted medications can contaminate water supplies and harm wildlife. Consider the following:
- Unwanted medicine disposed in the trash can be stolen and used, potentially resulting in death or illness
- Drugs tossed in the trash and taken to a landfill can also leach into groundwater supplies
- Leaving unwanted medications around the home presents a danger to children, guests and pets (even with child proof caps, it has been proven that medications are more child resistant than child proof)