Local pharmacies offer safe ways to dispose of out of date or unwanted prescription and over the counter medications.
Rather than flush medications down the sink or toilet, or throw them into the garbage, local residents are urged to returning them to a pharmacy for safe disposal.
When prescription or over the counter drugs are thrown into the garbage or flushed down the sink or toilet, their chemical components may be added to the municipal water supply or to the groundwater through the soil, leeching into local lakes, rivers and streams.
Health Canada say that although the concentration levels of these products in the environment may be very low, it may still be enough to have adverse effects on the environment and indirectly on human health.
Of greater concern is the potential for adverse effects when there is an accumulation over time of trace amounts of disposed medications in drinking water sources.
There is also an increasing concern that chemicals from pharmaceuticals and personal care products may be affecting aquatic species and other wildlife.
Health Canada say that traces of pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment, primarily in water sources including surface water, coastal water, groundwater, and drinking water as well as the soil and there is growing evidence that throwing pharmaceuticals such as prescription drugs and over the counter medications in the garbage, or flushing them down the toilet or the sink is contributing to this issue.
To combat the problem, most drug stores province wide have a pharmaceutical take back program on offer.
In 亚洲天堂 Lake both Rexall and Pharmasave offer the disposal service free of charge.
According to Pharmasave pharmacist Rick Greening, local residents can bring in any unwanted, out of date, or unused medications to the store and they will be safely disposed of by a contract company. "You can dispose of tablets, liquids and capsules. A B.C. medications return program contract company takes them away and incinerates them safely," he said,
Greening went on to say that medications should never be flushed down the toilet or sink as they will end up in the municipal water supply and potentially the lake. "The concentration of medications will accumulate over time," he said.
Greening went on to say that local residents can bring back anything from cough mixtures to anti cancer drugs. They can been out of date, or just unwanted.
He also adds that it is important to never take any out of date medications, instead, to bring them back to the pharmacy for safe disposal.
"Get the stuff out of the house," he added.
"This [safe disposal of medications] is becoming more of an issue because there are more powerful drugs around and the world is becoming more populated," he said.
Greening said diabetics and people who use needles are also able to dispose of them safely with a sharps collector, a bright yellow plastic box, which is available at the pharmacy.
"Years ago these [needles] were just thrown into the garbage and into the landfill," he added.
Bryan Rizzardo, pharmacist at Rexall in 亚洲天堂 Lake agreed with Greening.
"No medications should be flushed or thrown into the garbage, whether they are prescription, non prescription or herbal medications," he said.
Rizzardo went on to say, "Sewage treatment plants do not remove them properly."
"Throwing them into the landfill is also not recommended as they end up seeping into the groundwater," he added.
Rexall also has the same safe disposal options for all types of medications available. "The return program has been around for about 20 years," Rizzardo said, adding that sometimes people may just need a reminder.
It is recommended by Health Canada that an annual check of medications be carried out. Safely dispose of any out of date medications, or medications that are no longer required and restock any necessary items.
As well as protecting the environment, take back programs can protect human health from the risk of accidental poisonings from the use of out of date medications.
For more information on the safe disposal of medications see your pharmacist.
