Disposing expired meds

[XRanger]

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Hey...I'm currently the pharmacy officer for a club that runs student-run clinic and over the year, we have accumulated a lot of overexpired drugs.
So we're trying to get rid of them, what's the best way to do it?

From what I've gathered, one way is to call different pharmacies and ask if they accept expired meds, but is there any other way?

 

[fugm]

don't flush them. instead mix them with undesirable crap like kitty litter, coffee grounds, whatever

 

[meowmeow]

how many bottles of expired drugs do u have?? I know that at our pharmacy, we do not accept or expose of expired meds. What you can do is just like what fugm said... but if u want it to be super fun, just mix it with water in your magic bullet and see the colors... then flush them.

 

[atticus27]

how many bottles of expired drugs do u have?? I know that at our pharmacy, we do not accept or expose of expired meds. What you can do is just like what fugm said... but if u want it to be super fun, just mix it with water in your magic bullet and see the colors... then flush them.

Traces of pharmaceuticals are being found in our drinking water and in sea life. Don't flush them.

 

[XRanger]

yea...we probably have like 2 boxes full, so it's a lot. I have asked 2 pharmacies and they also don't take them. So i dont know..

I guess last resort would be to grind them all up and mix them with bunch of crap and just throw them in the trash? But i'm sure there's a more efficient way

 

[cdhoward]

yea...we probably have like 2 boxes full, so it's a lot. I have asked 2 pharmacies and they also don't take them. So i dont know..

I guess last resort would be to grind them all up and mix them with bunch of crap and just throw them in the trash? But i'm sure there's a more efficient way

Try calling a local hospital pharmacy. I work for a hospital pharmacy and we take in expired meds on occasion. We have a company that disposes of the medication for us.

 

[FresnoPharmD]

Call your city's waste management/health department and ask them. There's usually centers where you can take things like that and they'll dispose of them properly.

 

[Sparda29]

I'd combine them all up and burn them.

 

[Storm90]

At my store we took expired meds for disposal. It's safe and easy. Call around your neighbourhood and find the closest store that destroys them.

 

[jyw003]

i know for sure that Walgreens does not take expired meds. like someone said earlier, mix it with coffee ground, dirt, etc.

another great idea someone said was to call waste management! great idea!

 

[Sparda29]

Also, at CVS we send them back to the manufacturer for $$$

 

[deleted205891]

Send them to Africa. Expired meds are better than no meds.

At least, a program like this should be started. I don't know if there is one now.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

How about contacting your state board of pharmacy?

 

[fugm]

Send them to Africa. Expired meds are better than no meds.

At least, a program like this should be started. I don't know if there is one now.

a lot of expired meds are toxic.

 

[168533]

a lot of expired meds are toxic.

I thought most just lost their potency once expired?

 

[xscpx]

The thread is scary.... first of all DO NOT FLUSH, BURN, THROW AWAY, OR GIVE AWAY the drugs! That is a problem waiting to happen. Secondly, expiration dates do not mean anything necessarily about the drug. Most are totally fine years after expiration, but our FDA requires that so long after manufacture drugs no longer be used to cover their own asses in the even of some sort of chemical decay. Just need to abide by that.

Why do you have the drugs in the first place? "Officer" means nothing, there needs to be a licensed pharmacist. This pharmacist should know who to contact. There are companies whom grant credits for expired drugs and dispose of then properly. Disposal is not something anything expect for a trained professional should be doing.

As far as Africa...giving medication to people without proper diagnosis and without proper consultation is a horrid idea. I'm not so sure about giving expired drugs to people. If we wouldn't give them to people here why given them to people there? Sounds like a serious discrimination and human rights issue to me. I get what you are saying with some is better than none, but me giving you blood pressure medication when your blood pressure is fine, but you need insulin, it's not going to help you.

 

[deleted205891]

I thought most just lost their potency once expired?

Yes. Tetracycline is one of only a few that are toxic. The vast majority aren't.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

I thought most just lost their potency once expired?

The FDA defines the expiration date as when the drug is less than 90% potent. However, drug companies tend to set expiration dates earlier than this because its too costly for them to figure out exactly when that is.

 

[deleted205891]

As far as Africa...giving medication to people without proper diagnosis and without proper consultation is a horrid idea. I'm not so sure about giving expired drugs to people. If we wouldn't give them to people here why given them to people there? Sounds like a serious discrimination and human rights issue to me. I get what you are saying with some is better than none, but me giving you blood pressure medication when your blood pressure is fine, but you need insulin, it's not going to help you.

What I mean is once the people in Africa ARE diagnosed. You know, there are physicians there too. If a person there is diagnosed with high blood pressure and needs a beta-blocker or something, and there are none readily available, why not give ones that are 85% effective, but still effective. Of course the patients would have full knowledge that their drugs may be 85-90% effective of the original, unexpired medication.

 

[kismet]

The thread is scary.... first of all DO NOT FLUSH, BURN, THROW AWAY, OR GIVE AWAY the drugs! That is a problem waiting to happen.

Actually, the government says throw 'em out (and suggests several narcotics and antiretrovirals be flushed). http://www.ondcp.gov/drugfact/factsht/proper_disposal.html

California also says trash 'em: http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/publications/dont_flush_meds.pdf

One thing to consider might be paperwork. Even student-run clinics have to have licenses to operate, and licensed personnel to supervise. I don't know if you need to have documentation that the drugs were disposed of.. but your preceptors should have some idea.

Hospitals will burn medical waste, which includes drugs, but I wouldn't recommend burning them in your own fireplace, because, well, they're chemicals. Who knows what dangerous gases they might give off?

Might also check with your state board or county/state department of public health or a local "household hazardous waste" program (don't know what that is, but both the linked sources suggested checking your phone book for info).

 

[TTUMike]

Flushing them is the worst thing you could do. Like sparda stated earlier, burning them would be a good option. I'm fairly positive that is the way that Walgreens disposes of dirty pills. Expireds will be sent back to the manufacture for reimbursement.

 

[PharMed2016]

Here's an interesting article... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090125/ap_on_re_as/pharmawater_india

This more or less directly relates to what happens when drugs aren't dispose of properly. It also mentions even if you dispose of them or take them... there is still residue which goes into waste water... which eventually becomes drinking water.