FitSugar

Tap Water Tainted With Pharmaceutical Drugs

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:00:00 PST

People toss many things down the toilet, and one popular item to flush is unused pharmaceutical drugs. It seems a logical way to get rid of them, but traces of many drugs are showing up in drinking water nationwide. In 2006 and 2007, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, based in Las Vegas, screened 19 water utilities around the US for 51 different compounds. They found traces of pharmaceutical drugs, with the top 11 ranging from the mood-stabilizing drug carbamazepine, used to treat bipolar disorder, to a couple types of antibiotics, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, which is used to treat infections like tonsillitis caused by streptococcus bacteria. Naproxen, an anti-inflammatory used in the over-the-counter painkiller Aleve, was also among the top 11.

The concentration of these drugs in drinking water is a million times lower than medical doses, and is considered to pose no threat to human health. Although pathogen levels found in US drinking water are regulated, pharmaceuticals are not. While the levels of these drugs in our water may not be alarming, their presence serves to remind us about the chemicals that surround us and how we affect our environment.

To see how you should dispose of unused pharmaceuticals, just

read more. The majority of unused pharmaceuticals should be thrown away in the garbage. Better yet, they should be taken to a pharmaceutical take-back program or household hazardous waste collection program. Do read the literature that accompanies the drug, for it is recommended to flush a few highly addictive drugs, and the White House Drug Policy site has a list of drugs you should flush. Source

11 Things You Need to Throw Away

Emily Co — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:05:07 PST

The first step to taking care of yourself and de-stressing is to make sure that your environment is in order. Seeing your house full of clutter can affect your mood negatively and make your personal space seem like a place you want to escape from, rather than something to look forward to coming home to. Organize a "throwing out" day every month to make sure that you don't have clutter building up. Here are some things you should consider purging from your home:

Old magazines. Get rid of old magazines you have lying around because chances are, you aren't going to read them again. Find places where you can donate your magazines to such as child care centers, doctor's offices, nail salons, nursing homes, and libraries. If there's an article that really speaks to you, scan a digital image of it and keep it in your computer. Or keep a folder of magazine clippings if you like saving magazine articles.
Receipts, bills, and documents. Throw away receipts for items that you aren't planning on returning, and ones that you won't need to use come tax time. If you're wary of throwing away receipts, you can make a digital copy of them with a basic scanner, a pricey specialized receipt scanner ($174), or a smartphone app ($2). See here for a full list of documents you should keep forever or temporarily.
Clothes. Use the two-year-rule for clothes - get rid of apparel that you haven't worn in two years. Sell them to a thrift store (find a thrift store at thethriftshopper.com) or donate them to the needy.
Books. Go through your bookshelf and gather together books you haven't touched in months and ones that you aren't planning on rereading. Be realistic and make sure you're ruthless. If you haven't touched it in a year, you're most likely not going to read it again. Sell the books on Amazon, Craigslist, or eBay. You can even trade them for something else on swap.com. You can always donate them as well!
Medicine and vitamins. Take a look at your medicine closet and clear out drugs that have expired, medicine that has sat on your shelf for too long, or ones that you no longer use. First, check to see what the proper disposal methods are for the medication, and if you can't find any, check to see if your community has a drug take-back program. If there isn't a program near you, then the FDA advises mixing medicine with "used coffee grounds or kitty litter" in a container or sealable bag before throwing it away to make the drugs less appealing.

For more things to throw away, read on.

How to Throw Away Prescription Medication

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:00:21 PDT

While cleaning out some cabinets, I had a dilemma: expired prescription meds - OK to just throw away? I almost tossed a pill bottle into the trash but then stopped; do old pills leach chemicals, or worse, what happens if the wrong person (or stray animal) has access to my garbage? A quick call to my doctor proved to be an invaluable lesson in dealing with expired or unwanted medication.

Whatever you do, don't flush. Even though flushing unwanted drugs down the toilet may seem like a good idea, it's not - this isn't Goodfellas, after all. And the same goes for pouring anything down the drain. Septic systems can't break down the harmful substances in meds, which can end up in groundwater, lakes, rivers, or oceans, affecting animal and plant life.
Take it back where you found it. Depending on where you live, there may be programs in place to dispose of your unwanted medicine. Call a nearby pharmacy or hospital to see if it has a take back program. Some trash and recycling providers will also accept unwanted medication.
Using care, dispose of it yourself. If you have to dispose of your meds yourself, follow certain parameters to ensure proper care. Crush or break up any pills, and mix them in with kitty litter, coffee grounds, or any other undesirable substance. Place the mixture in a sealed plastic bag or container before throwing it in a trash can so the chemicals don't leak out into the garbage. Mix liquid medications with coffee grounds, sawdust, or kitty litter.