To Flush or Not to Flush

This one is easy! Don’t EVER flush any unwanted medications down the toilet or wash them down the drain!

OK, then what DO you do to get rid of unwanted personal care products or medications? The best solution is to dispose of them carefully in the trash or take them to a take-it-back program at your local pharmacy, hospital or doctor’s office.

Or, you can take them to your local household hazardous waste collection program. Be sure to call ahead to find out what they accept.

But let’s talk about why you should not put unwanted medications down the drain. When you flush, the drugs go either into your septic tank or the sanitary sewer system.

The medications can disrupt the balance of bacteria in your septic tank and cause problems. And the treatment system in your tank and at the end of your sewer connection can not remove the drugs. They are not designed to do that.

So the treated water from the septic tank and treatment plant, known as effluent, is eventually released to the environment with the drugs still in it. The solid matter left over, know as sludge, will also contain the remnants of the drug.

Think about it. Besides, there are already plenty of drugs being put down the drain just from the stuff that humans normally leave in the toilet.

These Federal Guidelines for the proper disposal of prescription drugs list certain pharmaceuticals as OK to flush. However, most operators of publicly owned treatments works (POTW’s), otherwise know as sewage treatment plants, say it is NEVER OK to FLUSH ANY MEDICATIONS. And there are plenty of studies to back it up.

The problem with flushing medications is that the chemicals in these medications are being found in unusual quantities everywhere in our streams, rivers and lakes and they are causing problems. Problems that are having an effect on the creatures in our environment including possible effects on human health.

This editorial opinion piece by our own Bob Peeples has some interesting information too. Here is a basic overview by Dave Galvin with a bit more detail. You will need Microsoft Power Point to view.

There are other creative solutions for proper disposal as described in this MSNBC story as well as a survey of how people get rid of unused medications.

The best solutions are to find a take-it-back program, use creative measures to make the medications unusable and dispose in the trash (don’t forget to remove your personal information) use up all the medications or better yet, not buy more than you need. And you can always let your doctor know not to give you more than you can use.

Bottom line is that there are plenty of medications being discharged to the sewer system and the environment by normal human elimination. And flushing the extra or unwanted only adds to the problem. Be aware of your consumption.

Find a way to properly dispose of those unwanted medications, and you will be protecting yourself as well as the environment and your community.

To find a take-it-back program near you simply type in unwanted medications on the left and your zip code and city and state on the right in the green recycling locator box at the top of the page.