Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Cathy Rofshus, 507-206-2608 St. Paul -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recommends that citizens avoid disposing of expired or unwanted medications by sending them down the drain. Instead, the MPCA urges citizens to discard these substances in the trash, after taking steps to prevent children, animals and others from coming into contact with them. Traditional disposal by sending medications down the drain may unintentionally harm fish and wildlife. Recent studies have found medications, or the materials that make up drugs, in Minnesota waters. Some medications, such as hormones and antidepressants, include endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), which interfere with the reproduction and normal growth of many aquatic species, such as frogs and fish. Before placing medications in the trash, citizens should take the following steps to prevent accidental or intentional ingestion of these substances:
-- Keep the medication in its original container. Leave content and safety information clearly visible, but scratch out the patient's name or cover it with permanent marker.
-- Modify the contents to discourage consumption. Add a small amount of water or vinegar to pills or capsules to partially dissolve them. Add table salt, flour or a powdered spice to liquids.
-- Seal and conceal the medication container. Tape the lid shut with duct tape and place the container inside a non-transparent piece of trash, such as an empty margarine tub. Do not conceal medications in food.
-- Discard the container in the garbage, not in the recycle bin. The MPCA Web site provides additional disposal information at www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/hhw/pharmaceuticals.html. Citizens may also contact their county solid waste officer or household hazardous waste program for alternative disposal methods. Medications enter the wastewater system either through excretion by humans or through disposal of unused or expired quantities down a toilet or drain. From there the wastewater flows to a treatment system, which uses many processes to clean up the water, though many are not designed to remove manmade medications. In Minnesota, the majorityof treated wastewater discharges to a lake, river or stream. Thus, one way to reduce the amount of medications in Minnesota's waterways is to reduce the amount disposed of down the drain. Prompted by concerns about the effect of medications on treatment facilities and the environment, the MPCA recently advised permitted wastewater-treatment plants across the state to not accept certain pharmaceuticals for disposal. In addition, the MPCA is working with hospitals and associations representing generators of pharmaceuticals as well as federal, state and local agencies to develop legal, reasonable and feasible disposal methods. Additional information is available for hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and others that handle prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications or veterinary medicines. A fact sheet, titled, "Managing Waste from Health Care Providers," is also available on the MPCA Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/w-hw3-34.pdf. Studies are underway and will continue for many years to address this issue of international scope. The MPCA will share additional information as it becomes available.