FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Take Back Your Meds?
- Why do we need a safe medicine return and disposal program?
- Startling Statistics on Medicine Abuse and Poisonings.
- Growing Concerns about Pharmaceutical Pollution.
- What are the problems with flushing or disposing of medicines in the trash?
- Why are there so many leftover drugs?
- What should I NOT do with unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs?
- So, what can I do now?
- Find out more!
What is Take Back Your Meds?
We are a group of health organizations, environmental groups, police, drugstores, and others that advocate the safe return and disposal of left-over medicines for Washington state residents.
Why do we need a safe medicine return and disposal program?
When used properly medicines can improve our lives. When leftover drugs can be toxic endangering our children our families and the environment. A huge amount of medicines go unused - about one-third of medicines sold - yet we don't have a secure and environmentally sound way to dispose of them.
Storing unwanted or expired medicines in our homes contributes to the epidemic of medicine abuse and accidental poisonings. When flushed or thrown away, unused medicines are hazardous waste that pollutes our waters and environment. Medicine take-back programs offer the only secure and environmentally sound way to dispose of leftover medicines.
Startling Statistics on Medicine Abuse and Poisonings:
- Drug overdoses in Washington have surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death. (WA DOH)
- Almost 12% of Washington state teens (one of the highest rates in the nation) use prescription pain medicines to get high. (WA DOH)
- Medicine cabinets are the new drug dealer. More than three out of five teens say prescription pain relievers are easy to get from parent’s or grandparent’s medicine cabinets. (WA DOH)
- 85% of poisoning deaths involved medicines in 2006. Fatal poisonings increased 395% from 1990 to 2006 in Washington State. (WA DOH)
- 32% of child poisoning deaths in Washington were caused by someone else’s prescription medication and 26% were caused by over-the-counter medications. (WA DOH)
Growing Concerns about Pharmaceutical Pollution:
- 139 streams were sampled throughout the U.S. and 80% tested positive for the presence of pharmaceuticals. (USGS) In the Pacific Northwest, researchers have found painkillers, antihistamines, antibiotics, heart medications and hormones in surface, ground and marine waters as well as soils and sediments. Find out more...
- Even the low levels of medicines found in our waterways hurt fish and aquatic life. Researchers have observed changes in fish behavior and reproduction.
- A wide range of medicines have been found in the drinking water of 24 major metropolitan cities. (AP Investigation)
- Large amounts of waste pharmaceuticals are being collected by voluntary and temporary take-back programs in about a dozen Washington counties. More than 75,000 pounds have been collected in about two years, demonstrating the large volume of waste medicines that can be kept out of our environment.
- If we don’t begin to act now to reduce pharmaceutical pollution, we are passing the problem on to future generations. As a simple first step, we can use medicine take-back programs to prevent unused medicines from getting into our waters and the environment. It is estimated that about one-third of all prescription and over-the-counter drugs sold need safe disposal.
What are the problems with flushing or disposing of medicines in the trash?
Leftover medicine is toxic waste. It poses a danger to people, pets, and the environment if it’s not disposed of properly. If flushed or thrown away it can get into the waterways, affecting our drinking water. Just as we don’t put used motor oil or leftover paint thinner in the trash, we should not put toxic leftover medicines in the garbage. Unwanted medicines should be disposed of properly like other household hazardous waste.
- Wastewater treatment facilities don’t destroy pharmaceuticals that are flushed. Most drugs pass through treatment plants and into our surface, ground, and marine waters.
- Trash disposal is not secure– especially for narcotics and other highly addictive and dangerous drugs. Even if pills are crushed or adulterated before they’re thrown in the trash – which is a dangerous practice itself – the drugs retain their biological and chemical activity and can still get into the environment. Trash disposal simply puts the environmental problem of these persistent toxic chemicals onto future generations.
- Pets can be poisoned by medicines thrown in the trash. The Animal Poison Control Center handled more than 46,000 cases in the U.S. of pets exposed to medicines in 2009. (ASPCA)
- Toxic leftover medicines are household hazardous waste that should not be put into landfills. Two counties in Washington have local ordinances that do not allow residents to throw all or most medicines in the garbage.
- High temperature incineration at properly permitted facilities is currently the safest disposal method for toxic left-over medicines. That’s how the pharmaceutical industry disposes of their unwanted medicines.
Why are there so many leftover drugs?
- There are many reasons why people have leftover prescription medicines. A doctor may change a patient’s medicine to find one that’s better for them. Large amounts of medicines are often leftover after a serious illness or after the death of a family member. Over-prescribing, especially of pain relievers, is also a problem that is receiving attention.
- Over-the-counter medicines also need to be properly handled and disposed of safely. Several over-the-counter medicines (e.g., ibuprofen, Tylenol) are on the top ten poisoning list in Washington, and over-the-counter drugs are frequently found in our waters.
What should I NOT do with unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs?
- Do NOT store them in an unsecured medicine cabinet where children, teens or visitors may have access.
- Do NOT flush your medicines down the toilet or wash them down the sink.
- Do NOT throw them away if you can use a medicine take-back program.
- Do NOT crush your pills to dispose of in the trash, this can be very dangerous.
So, what can I do now?
- Dispose of your medicines safely – if at all possible - by returning them to a drop-off location. A list of these take back locations can be found here.
- Safely store medicines in your home in a locked drawer, cabinet or medication lock box.
- Tell your friends, coworkers and family how to safely store and dispose of leftover drugs.
Find out more!
- Visit us at TakeBackYourMeds.org
- Get the latest information, become a fan at our Facebook page – TakeBackYourMeds
- Follow us on Twitter - takebackyourmeds
