Wednesday November 12th 6:30-8:30 p.m. University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library Room 022 * Medicine Take Back *(Hot Topic for 2009 Priorities for a Healthy Washington) Lecture Outline: • Risks of accidental poisonings and drug diversion related to unwanted medicines accumulating in our homes. • Environmental concerns with drug disposal down toilets or in landfills. • The medicine return pilot project in Washington. • Product stewardship (also called producer responsibility), a system of cradle-to-cradle responsibility for products in which producers set up and pay for programs to recycle or dispose of their products at end-of-life. • Creating a long-term secure medicine return program for Washington through product stewardship. • Looking "upstream" to decrease the eco-toxicity of medicines and to decrease the quantities of unwanted medicines that become waste. Abstract: Medicines saves lives and treat illnesses. But expired or left-over medicines need to be handled safely and disposed of properly to prevent harm to people and the environment. Drugs that accumulate in our medicine cabinets can contribute to accidental poisonings and illegitimate access that can lead to abuse. Some of the unwanted medicine that is flushed down toilets or thrown in the trash will end up in our surface or ground waters, potentially impacting aquatic organisms. A pilot program to take back unwanted medicines in Washington – led by Group Health Cooperative and Bartell Drugs, along with state and local governments and non-profit organizations – has collected more than 15,000 pounds of unwanted medicines (in original packaging) with limited locations and little advertising since October 2006. However, a statewide, ongoing return program will require ongoing funding. A producer responsibility approach would create and fund such a program. Producers would set up and pay for a program to conveniently collect and properly dispose of unwanted medicines from residents. Questions? Please call Katharine Appleyard at Sound Policy Institute: 253.973.9004