Need some info on how to dispose of old patches in California

Hi all. I have a quick question. I had to take my grandma down the hill yesterday for a medical proceedure, when we got back to her house yesterday evening, I noticed two boxes of fentanyl patches sitting on her kitchen table. I asked her what they were sitting there for, she said she needs to get rid of them, they were prescribed to my grandfather several years ago, and are waaaay past their expiration date. My biggest concern is that they were sitting right in easy reaching distance of my 3 y/o son. Well, I went ahead and told her I'd help her dispose of them, I'm just a little in the dark as to how to do it. I called down to the pharmacy here in town, and got a very rude person, who only informed me that they cant take them, apparently it's state law that they can't accept them to dispose of them.

 

I guess this question would be primarily directed for Tina, as I know she lives in Ca, how do you get rid of these old patches? I thought about flushing them, but my grandma is on a septic tank, and I'd hate to think of those things polluting her septic system with the medication, and possibly harming the next guy who goes to pump it. Any ideas? I told her to lock them in her safe for now, I don't want either my son, or any of my neices/nephews to get ahold of them, or my brother, who is not to be trusted around medications. So they're locked up for now, but I promissed her I'd help her get rid of them when we could.

Our RiteAid has envelopes by the registers to dispose of old meds. Unfortunetely there is a fee involved to send them to where ever they go. I have taken old meds back to my dr on occasion. Maybe calling a smaller Mom and Pop pharmacy you may get more assistance.

Here in Ohio, my pharmacy has allowed me to turn meds back in, but of course it was with a new prescription that replaced the one I returned, so i don't know if that had anything to do with it.

Hey Matt -

I've been thinking about this more.... I don't know what county you are in, in California.... but I was just looking at stuff for Northern California.... and all the police departments/sheriff offices around here take back meds too.
www.savesfbay.org/pharmaceutical-disposal-sites

Makes sense and I hadn't thought of that....

Just FYI :)

--Tina

Hey Matt I was going to say call your local police,state may be a good place to start.

If you want to check with the bad boys you can call your local DEA and ask them what they suggest you do since you cant follow manufacturers recommendations to flush them and the drugstore doesn't want them.

Walgreens did take Percocet from me awhile back,she just threw the bottle in this big envelope thing hanging on the wall.

Vickie

Please do not flush them if you are on a septic system. The adhesive backing and other non-biodegradable components can plug up the pipes to the cleanout and the main disposal line. They can also create a matting effect on the top layer of the sewage in the tank (scum layer), which can plug up components of the tank. The result is a sewage backup and a $500+ pumping bill. Check with your local garbage service. Many municipal landfill and transfer stations have special days for disposing of medical waste.
Also, many sewage treatment plants in CA are now discouraging flushing of old meds due to problems they've had with the treatment and removal of meds such as hormones, antibiotics, etc.

At the very least and out of respect, you should place them on a funeral pyre and give them a proper send-off.

Hi all, thanks so much for all the feedback. Been a really rough day, had to take my grandma down to the er because she was having severe pain in the pain in the leg they worked on. They ruled out DVT, and finally concluded that it was a flair of her arthritis caused by the RFA procedure, but they kept her most of the day, to control the pain, and to make sure she was alright. I'm beat, and at the end of my rope, 8 hours trying to control a 3 y/o inside an er room, plus hard chairs, and near inedible bologna sandwiches from a vending machine for lunch, I feel like I was ready to check myself in there by the time we left. At least we had a nice dinner, grandma decided to splurge, and took us to Outback Steakhouse.

Anyways, I'll work on this a bit more tomorrow. I'm going to call the sheriff substation in the morning and see what they say. We also have a police department inside the city limits that I can call, who I know has a narcotics division. Again thanks for all the feedback.

Hope your grandma is doing ok. Sometimes those ER visits are more trying than the actual illness/injury was to begin with, especially with an urban hospital. Take care of yourself.
Also, if the local law enforcement folks can't give you an answer or you can't find a place to dispose of the patches, you could try this: find an empty liquid detergent bottle or other sturdy reclosable container. Pull off the adhesive strip covers and put the patches in the container (wash hands after). Pour just enough bleach in the container to saturate the patches. This will adulterate them enough so that they'd be unusable. Put the cap back on the container & tape it with duct tape so that it won't leak. Dispose in trash (if you have garbage pick up) or drop off at nearest transfer station as personal medical waste. Where I live in CA folks do this with their used sharps and meds.

Post Edited (1 day at a time) : 3/2/2013 9:52:32 AM (GMT-7)