Pocono News Section

Pharmacies Next to Go Green

Pharmacies Next to Go Green - Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 5:06PM EST

Reported by: Kristi Capel
Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 @05:06pm EST
The next time you have a prescription filled, you may notice some differences. Not in your medication, but, in the way your neighborhood pharmacy does business. Some pharmacies are making changes and going green.

Usually we go to the pharmacy to pick up medications. But now in some pharmacies you can drop them off too. This box is full of them. Pills never taken, expired, or prescribed to loved ones who have since passed away. The point is they're ending up here, not in the water.

Pharmacist Robin Givenzy said, "It harms waterways and eventually could harm people if we drink the water. We just don't yet know the impact."

Research shows that 89% of consumers throw their unused pharmaceuticals in the trash or down the toilet. The pill return program gives people another option, these get sent away to a company who safely disposes of them. "They get incinerated in an environmentally proper way,” added Givenzy.

The service is free, but you can't drop off needles, inhalers, or controlled substances such as vicodin. Pharmacy Manager Ali Ghezavat "One thing patients have to do is remove personal information before they take those to recycled materials."

It’s small ways pharmacies are helping you and mother earth feel better.