Iowa launches TakeAway program to assure safe disposal of unused pharmaceuticals

NEW YORK Some studies show that more than 40 million Americans drink tap water contaminated with improperly discarded pharmaceuticals, but one U.S. state has started a program to help bring that number down.

Legislation passed earlier this year in Iowa has resulted in the creation of the Iowa TakeAway program, which the Iowa Pharmacy Association and Sharps Compliance Corp. will launch in November.

An estimated 40% of the 4 billion prescriptions filled in the United States each year go unused. Many patients discard them by flushing them down the toilet – which is how many of them end up in drinking water – but many of those drugs also end up being diverted and used illegally, particularly painkillers and some psychiatric drugs.

The Iowa TakeAway program is designed to use community pharmacies to provide patients with a way to dispose of unused medications, with funding from the state. Patients can bring their unused drugs to any participating pharmacy and drop them off. The pharmacist then inserts them into an RxTakeAway System parcel provided by Sharps Compliance and sends it to the company via UPS. Sharps Compliance then disposes of the medications at its incinerator in Carthage, Texas, under supervision by law enforcement officials.