|
|
|
SCAS Guest speaker: Wildlife Care Center of Florida Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival Congress Approves Migratory Bird Law Adventures of a Peregrine Falcon Christmas Birders Flock Together 10th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Audubon Hopeful of Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers in Florida Meeting Program and Field Trip Schedule |
Ask Audubon: How to Dispose of MedicationsReprinted From Audubon NewswireQ: How should I dispose of OTC or Rx medications? - Submitted by Nancy D. of Putnam, New York A: Both prescription and over-the-counter drugs -should be disposed of as hazardous waste at the appropriate facilities. The website http://www.earth911.org will allow you to search by zip code for nearby hazardous waste disposal centers. Some local pharmacies and hospitals have prescription medicine take-back programs, where they will collect and dispose of the medicines for you. Throwing over-the-counter or prescription medicines into the trash or toilet can damage the environment. These substances are not filtered by sewage treatment plants and can harm the bacteria used by the treatment plants to kill hazardous microorganisms. A recent U.S. Geological Survey found pharmaceutical contaminants in U.S. lakes and streams, including nonprescription drugs in 81 percent of the waterbodies tested, antibiotics in 48 percent, and other prescription drugs in 32 percent. These drugs pose a threat to birds and other wildlife that rely on these water sources, and cause risks to us as well. |