Getting rid of stuff
Disposal of Unwanted Medicines:
A Resource for Action in Your Community
Index Page Chapter 1: Introduction and Background Additional Information |
You can tell we are a society that takes a lot of drugs (legal ones that is) by watching commercials. You see ads for anti-depressants, antacids, and a host of other remedies for ailments we just as soon not think about. But, what happens to all the prescription or over-the-counter drugs that are brought home, but for one reason or another, end up unused? When people's prescriptions change, their drugs expire or are no A 2008 Associated Press investigation found pharmaceuticals in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas. IISG has developed a series of toolkits and initiatives to help communities, schools and individuals develop and promote programs for safe disposal of unwanted medicine. To order a CD version of this toolkit, visit our Products page.
|
longer needed, these medicines are typically flushed or thrown away. Pharmaceuticals thrown in the trash can leach into the environment; flushed drugs can kill bacteria that break down waste in sewage plants, damage septic systems, and contaminate nearby waterways and harm aquatic wildlife.
