Where Do You Dispose of Narcotics?

[All4Seasons]

What is your hospital policy for this? Apparently,our pharmacy is drafting a new policy for disposal of narcotics. I'm specifically speaking of the syringes of injectables that your patient doesn't require. Pharmacy,because of potential access by drug seekers, does not want them to go into the sharps containers -which can be broken into. Many people squirt the injectables and toss the tablets down the sink drain. This,for certain, results in massive quantities of chemicals reaching the environment - in our case here,the ocean. I have a problem with that. What I've done for a number of years is to squirt the injectables onto absorbent paper in the garbage...paper towel -while the empty syringe and glass vial go into the sharps container. That,however, does not solve the problem of what to do with narcotic tablets.

What does your hospital sanction as the acceptable disposal policy?

Thanks!!

[azhiker96, BSN, RN]

I typically squirt it into the sharps container and then drop the empty vial/syringe in behind it. Consider the other stuff that goes in there; blood, labetalol, hydralazine, phenergan, robinol, narcan, etc. If some junkie wanted to suck out that mixture to inject, god help him. I agree that too much goes down the drain and into our water table as it is. All unused meds should be incinerated which is where I think our sharps end up.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

Sharps container for tabs and sink for liquids. There's so much crap in our water table I don't think a little bit of dilaudid will make any difference. Think of it, it's going down the sewer along with everything that's flushed down the toilet! Dirty mops, human feces and urine, sink waste, what else? Water treatment plants help, but I doubt if wasted narcotics make a discernible difference.

[Yeehah]

I squirt all contents out of syringe into sharps bin before throwing syringe out.

[tewdles, RN]

In hospice we are no longer allowed to dispose of unused opioids in the sink or toilet. Now we are instructed to waste them into a baggie containing kitty litter or used coffee grounds.