Unwanted Medications: A Prescription for Troubled Waters

We are a society that takes a lot of drugs – each year, the use of prescription medicine increases and new drugs come on the market. But, what happens to all the prescription and over-the-counter drugs that are brought home, but for one reason or another, end up unused?

The use of prescription medicine increases and new drugs come on the market every year in the U.S.

When people's prescriptions change, their drugs expire or are no longer necessary, these medicines are typically flushed or thrown away. "Chemicals from medicines flushed down the toilet can pass untreated through sewage plants, damage septic systems, and contaminate nearby waterways," said Beth Hinchey Malloy, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) Great Lakes ecosystem specialist. “Medicines thrown in the trash can be scavenged or they have the potential to contaminate landfill leachate.”

In 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey sampled down-stream from wastewater treatment plants in 30 states and found at least one pharmaceutical in 80 percent of 139 streams. Researchers have also found that several of these compounds are potentially harmful to aquatic organisms, even in small quantities.

"Some pharmacies will take back some unwanted medications, and some communities have one-day collection events, but there is no long-term solution to this growing and potentially dangerous wastestream," said Susan Boehme, IISG coastal sediment specialist. “We field calls every week from community leaders, state officials, pharmacists, doctors, solid waste managers or environmental activists looking for information, support, and solutions.”

IISG and the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office have developed a resource kit for those thinking about starting a take-back program or creating other disposal programs. The kit includes background information on unwanted medicines, what's known about their impact on the environment, as well as numerous resources for addressing the problem, including extensive collection program case studies.

Over seven 50-gallon barrels of medication were collected in Springfield, IL at a 2007 hazardous waste collection event. (Photo credit: Sangamon County Dept. of Public Health)

Pharmacists at a collection site identified and sorted unwanted medications

At a collection event in Milwaukee, WI in 2006, pharmacists identified and sorted unwanted medications. (Photo credit: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)

In Illinois and Indiana, IISG has distributed the resource kit and co-hosted workshops for over 100 local solid waste management officials, health department workers, and others. As a result, in Springfield, Illinois seven 50-gallon drums of household medicines were brought in for safe incineration as part of a larger collection event. In Kendall County, Illinois, an ongoing collection program is now underway – residents can drop off medicines at the police station anytime.

Boehme and Hinchey Malloy have had requests for the kit from community leaders and others from 15 states, plus Washington D.C. and Canada. Close to home, they are providing advice to the City of Chicago Department of Environment on its unwanted medicines collection program.

They are now working closely with state and local agencies and programs, including Michigan Sea Grant, to facilitate take back projects and to reach new audiences in Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin. They are also taking their message directly to pharmacists. "The model of pharmacies accepting unwanted medicines has been very successful in other countries," said Hinchey Malloy.

"As more sustainable take back programs are put in place, we hope to shift our focus to raising awareness with the broader public to enhance the success of these programs," said Boehme.