Pharmaceuticals

After learning that death from an unintentional overdose occurs every six minutes and medications are a top source of accidental poisoning for children, many may be tempted to flush their unused pharmaceuticals down the toilet. But this practice – responsible for as many as 2,300 tons of hazardous waste annually, according to the EPA – can pollute drinking water and harm aquatic species, while putting meds in the trash increases their risk of being abused.

In Oklahoma, a recently launched campaign aims to help residents responsibly empty their medicine cabinets in a way that won’t harm the environment or put people at risk. “Fish Don’t Want Your Meds” connects Oklahoma residents with resources to help them conveniently drop off unused medications for safe disposal.  

Created by the Oklahoma Meds & Sharps Disposal Committee with the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), the project is part of a growing movement to develop perennial statewide take-back programs, partially in response to the opioid epidemic: Statistics show that seven out of 10 people who abuse prescription pharmaceuticals obtain them from friends or family – and often from home medicine cabinets. 

Click this map to see sharps take-back locations in Oklahoma. 

Oklahoma’s new program is part of a nationwide push for pharmaceuticals Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs and legislation. In April, Illinois became the seventh U.S. state – with Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington State, New York, and California – to enact an  EPR law that requires drug manufacturers to pay for and run a statewide take-back program.  
 
PSI has been working for 15 years on pharmaceuticals take-back laws and policies, including developing model drug take-back legislation and leading the national effort to enact the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act in 2010, which made it possible for pharmacies to accept unused drugs.