How Do I Dispose of Old or Unwanted Medicine?
Fish Pharm, shows concentrations of medicine found in fish from the north branch of the Chicago River. Source: National Geographic Magazine, April 2010
Don’t Rush to Flush!
Old advice for disposing of unwanted or expired medicine was to flush it down the toilet. Now, scientists have found these medicines are polluting our waterways, including those we use for drinking water. “Don’t rush to flush!” is the new mantra.
To protect water quality and for public safety, medicines should be taken for disposal at a verified collection site. In DuPage County, many police stations take part in the RxBox program for medicine disposal. SCARCE continues to work to expand the RxBox program with help from a grant from the DuPage Foundation.
What Happens to the Medicine?
Collected medicine is incinerated. This process completely destroys the active ingredients. Although this is not ideal for air quality, it is better than flushing medicines down the toilet or throwing them in the trash. When flushed, medicine gets into waterways and few water treatment centers can remove it. When thrown out, medicine can mix with water or other liquids in a landfill and drain into soil and groundwater.