Don't flush those pills!
One way seniors can avoid mixing up medications is by disposing of expired or unwanted drugs at receptacles now posted at several police departments across San Mateo County.
"This is the first program in the area that includes over-the-counter, prescription medications and controlled substances such as pain killers and sleeping pills," according to San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier.
Such comprehensive drug disposal was only possible by working with law enforcement agencies to create a pilot program, she said.
"We had places for paints and solvents, motor oils, fluorescent bulbs and batteries, but not for unwanted or expired medication."
News of medication errors in seniors and teens raiding medicine cabinets for "pharm parties" made the need for such a program clear, Supervisor Tissier said.
Even when people make an effort to rid their households of unwanted drugs, they often end up harming the environment, she said.
"I recently visited a senior center where a good number of the people I asked said they flush their pills down the toilet, but most people don't realize that most sewage treatment plants are not designed to filter out medicines."
"So everything from antibiotics to birth control hormones is showing up in fish and amphibians."
Supervisor Tissier recommends that people remove or blot out names on prescription medicine containers before disposing of them. Drugs discarded at police departments are taken to a county facility where a licensed hazardous waste collector will remove them for incineration.
Ultimately, Tissier hopes to expand the program. "My longer term goal is to actually have pharmacies taking medications back."
The white receptacles with a hazardous material emblem are easy to find at four locations:
- Daly City Police Department
333 90th Street, Daly City - Pacifica Police Department
2075 Cost Highway, Pacifica - San Bruno Police Department
1177 Huntington Ave., San Bruno - San Mateo County Sheriff's Office
400 County Center, Redwood City
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