New TakeAway program offers safe drug disposal for Iowans

Don't flush.

A new drug disposal program slated to begin Monday should make it easier and safer for Iowans to get rid of unused medications.

The TakeAway Environmental Return System was created after the state passed legislation last year for a pharmacy-based drug collection and disposal program.

Under TakeAway, Iowans can bring their unused prescription or over-the-counter drugs to participating pharmacies.

The medications will be placed in a box that goes to Sharps Compliance, Inc., which burns the drugs in a waste-to-energy process at its Texas plant.

Rani Shen Elkin, a pharmacist at A Avenue Pharmacy, 717 A Ave. NE, which plans to participate in TakeAway, said flushing and other past disposal methods are not environmentally safe.

Medications enter the sewer system and cannot be completely removed from the water, she said.

Even the latest recommendation to dissolve medications with coffee grounds or cat litter still results in drugs going into landfills.

TakeAway also addresses potential abuse or misuse of unused drugs stored at home.

Both liquid and pill medications will be accepted, but controlled substances, such as Vicodin, will not. Drugs should be brought in their original containers.

For now, disposal is free, but Shen Elkin said pharmacists will evaluate the program because the state is only providing the first boxes for free. Pharmacies will incur costs for shipping, as well as future bins.

Funding through an Iowa Department of Natural Resources grant will allow about 600 pharmacies to participate, according to the Iowa Pharmacy Association, which is leading the effort.

Bob Egeland, vice president of pharmacy operations for Hy-Vee, said about 130 of the company's stores in Iowa are participating.

A rise in the number of drug thefts from homes is another reason the program is needed, Egeland said, noting that some people hang on to their medications, long after the drugs have expired.

Hy-Vee is committed to the program, even after the first boxes are full, he said.

“I don't know if those (boxes) will fill up in a week or fill up in a year,” Egeland said.

To find a participating pharmacy, see: www.iarx.org/takeaway