Properly Dispose of Dangers in the Medicine Cabinet
February 25, 2010 – 11:45 pm
Now that it’s the new year, it’s time to face difficult tasks that you were meaning to accomplish in the previous year. Over the years, many different products can accumulate in your medicine chest. Maybe you are afraid to throw them away thinking that you might eventually need them. Or maybe you just don’t know how to properly dispose of these items. Today is the day to clean out your medicine cabinet, and these tips can help you clear out those items that can pose a danger to your children and other family members.
Whenever you come across expired prescription medicines and antibiotics, they should be thrown away immediately. By keeping them around your home, they could end up in the wrong hands. Children and pets are curious and can find ways to get into these pills. To dispose of them, do not flush them down the toilet or rinse them down the sink, because this can contaminate drinking water. Instead, remove your personal information from the bottle then duct tape each bottle and triple wrap them in plastic bags. This way when your garbage is collected and smashed, the pills will stay contained. At a landfill, the pills will have less of a chance of contaminating groundwater, because landfills use liners, clays and other materials to protect any underlying aquifers.
If you have old makeup or sunscreen, throw them out when in doubt or look for an expiration date. Using old makeup on your skin is dangerous, because over time, it can become tainted with bacteria. Old sunscreen can just make you more at risk for sunburn and sun poisoning.
Your local recycling center might have hazardous waste collection programs, which are worth checking into if you have a large amount of expired medication. You can also contact local pharmacies to inquire if they have any recycling or take back programs.
Prescription medications can cause major health problems for animals and people when ingested, which is why it’s important to dispose of them in the most eco-friendly way possible instead of flushing them down a toilet. In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey sampled 139 streams in 30 states and found that 80 percent of these streams were contaminated with chemicals that can be pinpointed to pharmaceuticals. So take your prescribed medication, and if you have leftovers, seal them up and throw them in the trash.
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Tags: bathroom dangers, dispose of prescription drugs, medicine cabinet dangers