Posted at: 05/03/2010 6:45 PM
By: Dan Conradt

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Problems With Prescription Drug Disposal

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- As baby-boomers get older, the demand for prescriptions is going up. That means more prescriptions are sitting around, unused. But the disposal methods that were once acceptable aren't acceptable any more.

"This is what the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was telling people," said Jeff Weaver, director of the Mower County Recycling Center. "Drop them down the stool".

But there are problems with that.

"The last couple of years now we've seen more and more of these chemicals showing up in our drinking water," said Austin Pharmacist Chris Meyer.

An investigation by the Associated Press found that pharmaceuticals have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, partly because wastewater management systems are not designed to remove them.

"It's processing a very specific waste and it was not designed to take those pharmaceuticals out," said Jeff Weaver.

"Those pharmaceuticals are going straight through the treatment plant into our creeks and streams," Weaver said. "That's affecting the plants and the animals and of course the people who are drinking or using that water."

So the acceptable method of getting rid of old mediations changed: put them in the garbage.
But that wasn't working, either.

"It goes to the landfill and the landfills do leak," Weaver said.

"Things are going to seep, they're still going to make their way down into our water supply," added Medicap Pharmacist Chris Meyer.

And it's a growing problem. The A-P survey found that nationwide, we're taking 12 percent more prescriptions now than we were five years ago, and that means more prescription drugs awaiting proper disposal. So the next generation of disposal could be collection and incineration.

"Is that the perfect world?" asked Jeff Weaver. "No, nothing's perfect. But at least it's not going into the ground water."

Prescription drugs have also become the drug of choice for many young people, and Mower County hopes to create a medication drop-site at the law Enforcement center in Austin.

The program would cost about $5,000 a year to operate, most of that for disposal. The Austin City Council is expected to decide whether to fund half of that cost. Other funds would come from Mower County, and from the Austin Police Officer's Association.