dumping meds into our water supply

[NursePatty24]

Every time I waste a narcotic down the drain due to a partial dose order, I can't help but cringe. My floor does not want us to waste meds in the sharps container, and we do not have any other type of disposal method except the drain. Can you imagine the amount of drugs we put into the water supply each day?

Have any of your facilities adopted a different type of disposal method? I'd love to share options with my manager/ pharmacists.

Thanks :dancgrp:

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

We now waste liquids into the garbage can & pills into the sharps container. Nothing into the sinks.

[FLArn]

Our wasted meds are liquified in water then placed in kitty litter in a plastic ziplock style bag and thrown in trash can.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I admire your eco-awareness, but do you have any idea how many pharmaceuticals are present in our water supply already? Remember how drugs are excreted & let your mind wander. . . yep, that's right. Municipal water purification systems do not remove most pharmaceuticals. If you couple that with the fact that Prozac is just about the most commonly prescribed med these days, it's a wonder we are all not waaaay more mellow.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I admire your eco-awareness, but do you have any idea how many pharmaceuticals are present in our water supply already? Remember how drugs are excreted & let your mind wander. . . yep, that's right. Municipal water purification systems do not remove most pharmaceuticals. If you couple that with the fact that Prozac is just about the most commonly prescribed med these days, it's a wonder we are all not waaaay more mellow.

Doesn't mean we don't have the responsibility to prevent as much of it going in as we can. :)

To the OP: I still waste in the sharps, not sure if we have a policy at all to be honest. I doubt it.

[calistami]

I never thought about this. We waste into the sink most times, occasionally into the garbage. For those of you whose facilities use the sharps container, I'm guessing it's only used for pills/capsules and not liquids?

Slightly related, I always wonder how you are supposed to get rid of unused medications at home. I mean, most of us don't have sharps containers, and they say not to throw them away but also not to flush them. What do you all do?

[sharpeimom]

my husband had foot surgery in december and was sent home with a bottle of oxycontin. the se were severe and he called the surgeon who gave him fentanyl and neurontin scrips. those controlled his pain and neuropathy. (he's a type 1 diabetic)

great! we were left with 29 oxys to dispose of. holiday time when pickups were delayed, sometimes by days.

i dissolved them in water, then took some unused scoopable cat litter and added the water, and stirred and then combined that litter with what we fished out of 12 cat pans, then put it out with the garbage on garbage night. ick!

[Tait, MSN, RN]

my husband had foot surgery in december and was sent home with a bottle of oxycontin. the se were severe and he called the surgeon who gave him fentanyl and neurontin scrips. those controlled his pain and neuropathy. (he's a type 1 diabetic)

great! we were left with 29 oxys to dispose of. holiday time when pickups were delayed, sometimes by days.

i dissolved them in water, then took some unused scoopable cat litter and added the water, and stirred and then combined that litter with what we fished out of 12 cat pans, then put it out with the garbage on garbage night. ick!

yeah basically mashing them/dissolving them and putting them into cat litter is really the only way to keep someone from getting at them.

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

For home meds, my community has a "drop off drugs" day a couple times a year. It's sponsored by law enforcement, the hazardous waste department, and a pharmacy. As I recall, the last session (which was only four hours long) netted a couple hundred pounds of meds that were no longer needed.

[NursePatty24]

That's a good idea putting them in kitty litter at home.

[BacktotheBeach, ADN, BSN, RN]

I learned to put them in coffee grounds, then in your garbage.

[SouthernPoint]

Since Florida is becoming the "Pill Mill Factor of the Good Ole US of A". Many of the county's have appointed fire stations or police/sheriff substations that one can drop off un-needed medications anytime with no questions asked. I would think that, that information might be posted on the county's website.