Medication Disposal

There are eight permanent disposal bins are located throughout Anderson County. These bins offer a safe option for residents to dispose of unused or unwanted medicine. The medication disposal at the police departments are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Not Accepted for Disposal:

• Business waste
• Used needles and other sharps

Used needles and other sharps should be disposed of by placing the sharps/needles in a sealed plastic container labeled “SHARPS” and putting that in with your household waste.

Why we Count It! Lock It! Drop It!

TO REDUCE MISUSE & OVERDOSE

“The misuse of prescription drugs is our nation’s fastest-growing drug problem,” said Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske. Because prescription drugs are legal, they are easily accessible, often from a home medicine cabinet. Further, some individuals who misuse prescription drugs, particularly teens, believe these substances are safer than illicit drugs because they are prescribed by a healthcare professional and sold behind the counter.

A drug overdose is either the accidental or intentional use of a drug or medicine in an amount that is higher than normally used. All drugs have the potential to be misused, whether legally prescribed by a doctor, purchased over the counter at the local drug store, or bought illegally on the street. Taken in combination with other drugs or alcohol, even drugs normally considered safe can cause death or serious long-term consequences.

Children are particularly at risk for accidental overdose and account for over 1 million poisonings each year. People who suffer from depression and who have suicidal thoughts are also at high risk for drug overdose. Accidental overdose may even result from the misuse of prescription medicines or commonly used medications like pain relievers and cold remedies.

TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT

Currently, there are few safe and convenient ways for consumers to dispose of unused prescription drugs. Twenty to sixty percent of prescription medications go unused and are eventually disposed. Nearly all unused pharmaceuticals enter either our solid waste system or our sewage system. Neither disposal method is environmentally sound. Pharmaceuticals flushed down the toilet pass through our sewage treatment plants, which are generally not designed to screen for these chemicals. Pharmaceuticals discarded in landfills can seep into the surrounding water table. Several studies, including a 2002 analysis by the US Geological Survey of 139 streams across 30 states found that 80 percent of waterways tested had measurable concentrations of prescription and nonprescription drugs, steroids, and reproductive hormones.

It is important to remember that many of these substances are biologically active. In other words, the ingredients can cause problems in humans and animals.