Disposing of old vitamins

[frogbison]

and other pharma...what is the safest way for me, in my area of the country, to dispose of out-dated stuff?

Is there a database for state agencies that may advise?

[kestrel91316]

1. DON'T FLUSH THEM DOWN THE TOILET.

Drugs are winding up in our waterways to do god knows what kind of harm to vital microbes............I take mine out of their bottle, wrap up tightly in paper or whatever, and throw away in the trash. Then the bottle gets rinsed and recycled.

I figure with the paper wrapping, and then securely disposed of inside of a plastic trash bag, the drugs will have a shot at breaking down long before they can make their way into any water.

[Radio_Lady]

2. This advice goes for ALL DRUGS. You can leave them in their

original bottles (might want to pull off label). Don't flush them into the sewers -- put them in regular garbage, not for any kind of recycling, wrapped in plastic.

This is supposed to be a huge problem with our waterways filled with all kinds of drugs that do not break down. Read about it a few weeks ago and it almost made me sick with despair.

Here's a brief excerpt (not my state's document, but interesting never-the-less):

Keep the pharmaceuticals in their original container since the labels may contain safety information, the container is chemically compatible, and the caps are typically water tight and child-proof.•Add a small amount of water to the solid drug or some absorbent material such as kitty litter, sawdust or flour to liquid drugs before recapping. These measures are intended to discourage any unintended use of the drug.•Double enclose the contained drugs in a bag or any other waste container to prevent immediate identification of a drug container or prevent a glass drug container from breaking during the disposal process, e.g., when a plastic garbage bag tears, tipped trash can, etc.For more information on this subject, review the web sites provided above or contact the Environmental Assistance Center at 800-662-9278 for direct access to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality programs.

http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-ess-tas-cau-Rxbrochure.pdf

Another thing to think about it (NOT A PRETTY THOUGHT) -- we are all EXCRETING DRUGS into the waterways -- chemicals not consumed by our bodies. Yikes...

[Warpy]

3. That applies to antibiotics very nicely, but after a couple of years

at room temperature, they're largely inactive. Some of the drugs out there, like Prozac, are incredibly persistent and have been found in streams and in fresh water fish. Other than incinerating them, I have no idea what can be done to dispose of them safely.

Other drugs break down pretty quickly and don't pose much of a problem for the environment.

With all the medications out there being heavily pushed by lavish advertising budgets, we're going to see more environmental contamination down the road. I shudder to think of what the law of unintended consequences will do with some of the lifestyle drugs.

[kestrel91316]

4. Nothing breaks down in our landfills, and stuff just sits and

mummifies there, so i think a landfill is the best place for this stuff.