What are unwanted household pharmaceutical wastes?
They are any of the following items that are out of date or no longer needed by persons in the household.
- Prescription or over the counter medications
- Pet medications
- Vitamins
- Liquid medications
- Medicated ointments, lotions, and creams
Carelessly disposing of these items has an impact both on humans as well as the environment. For example:
- Each year, approximately 60,000 children visit emergency rooms for accidently ingesting medications
- 75% of all emergency room visits for children are from medicine poisoning
- Drugs can potentially contaminate water supplies – both surface and ground water
- Water treatment plants are not designed to remove complex pharmaceutical chemicals which can impact the environment.
You can learn more about what to do with unwanted prescription drugs by following the links listed below.
REGULATORY
- EPA Guidance to Law Enforcement Agencies
- Management of Household Pharmaceuticals Collected by Law Enforcement During Take-Back Events and Programs
- TDEC Unwanted Household Pharmaceuticals Takeback Program
- TN Dangerous Drugs Task Force
- TN Prescription Safety Act
ADDICTION AND SOCIAL RESOURCES
- Join an Anti-Drug Coalition
- National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children
- Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Provider Contact List
- Tennessee Together: provides addiction related resources and community solutions to an ongoing crisis.
- TN Alliance for Drug Endangered Children
- TN Dept of Health Opioid Addiction Response
- TN Drug Endangered Children Resource Page
TENNESSEE DATA
- Controlled Substance Monitoring Database: 2021 Report to the 112th Tennessee General Assembly, March 1, 2021
- County Health Rankings 2019 – Tennessee
- Economic Impact of the Prescription Opioid Crisis in Tennessee
- Opioid Prescribing Patterns and Prescriber Discipline in Tennessee
- Tennessee’s Annual Overdose Report 2021
- Tennessee Drug Overdose Dashboard
- TN Smart Policy Network
PROGRAM TOOLKITS AND GUIDANCE
This information was developed by the UT Institute for Public Service and made possible through the USDA Solid Waste Management Program. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. The UT Institute for Public Service is an equal opportunity provider.
