THE END RESULTS
            Usually we expect to feel better as the end result of medication. Disposing of medications, unused or unwanted for various reasons, is logical but we seldom consider that there may be environmental end results that we are not expecting.
            “Recent United States Geological Survey studies have found traces of painkillers, estrogen, antidepressants, blood-pressure medicines, etc. in water samples from 30 states,” reports the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Realizing that the disposal of medications is an emerging environmental issue, the Illinois EPA is providing educational materials and encouraging voluntary partnerships around the state to offer environmentally responsible disposal alternatives for discarded medications and personal care products. The Illinois EPA website lists seventy disposal sites in the state; the only one in the northwest part of the state is Rock River Reclamation District located in Rockford.
            Some drugs that we take are not completely absorbed or metabolized by the body, and they enter the environment after passing through wastewater treatment plants, explains Raanan Bloom, Ph.D., and Environmental Expert in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. www.fda.gov/ This end result is largely beyond our control. However, we do control the methods by which medication gets thrown away for various reasons, including a change in prescription, improvement in health, failure to complete a prescribed course of medication, or an excess amount of pills.
            Illinois EPA www.epa.state.il.us/medication-disposal/ recommends safe handling / disposal options for prescription and over-the-counter medications:

• Look for information on disposal amongst information that comes with the medication.
• Unless instructed to do so, do not flush medications down the toilet or put them in the drain; wastewater treatment plants and septic systems are generally not designed to treat pharmaceutical waste.
• Reduce waste by using up all medications as prescribed; buy only what you can reasonably use before expiration; get only enough of a new medication to see if the medication works.
• Dispose of medications by putting them in the trash after you remove or mark over all labels that identify the materials as pharmaceuticals; or by hiding them in the trash after you render them unattractive to children and thieves either by mixing them with a small amount of water or alcohol or by grinding them up and mixing them with coffee grounds or kitty litter.
• Never burn medications in a burn barrel. Uncontrolled burning can create dioxins and other air pollutants.
• Do not give medications to friends; a drug that works for you could be dangerous for someone else.

You can urge your pharmacy to initiate a take-back program or partner with your community leaders to organize a disposal program. Experts who are willing to give presentations can be contacted through the Illinois EPA’s Medication Disposal program.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 11/11/09 for publication on 11/14/09 in the Journal Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org