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Boulder Medication Drop Helps Keep Waterways Clean

The Virginia Guard
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CreativeCommons/Flickr

The City of Boulder is encouraging residents to drop off their expired or unwanted medication for proper disposal Saturday. The free event is aimed at keeping medicine from being flushed down the drain. 

Nick Grossman with Boulder Public Works says while flushing old pills was once recommended, new studies suggest that trace amount of pharmaceuticals can still be released back into local waterways.

“Boulder’s municipal waste water treatment facility is not currently equipped to completely remove all the chemicals and compounds that are found in various medications. And this can have an adverse effect on the environment.”

Residents can take their medication to the Boulder Community Foothills Hospital, 4747 Arapahoe Ave. from 8am to 1pm Saturday, September 15th.  In a statement released by the city of Boulder, the following types of medicine will be accepted at the event:

  • prescription medications
  • over-the-counter medication
  • pills
  • liquid medication
  • trans-dermal patches; and
  • inhalers.

The statement also says people unable to drop off their medication during Saturday's event, still have options for proper disposal:

  • Pour liquid medications over cat litter, or some other absorbent material, and seal it in a plastic bag before placing it in the trash;
  • Fill pill containers with household glue, remove all personal information, and then place the container in the trash once the glue has dried; or
  • Cut trans-dermal patches into small strips, place them in a container and add household glue, or mix them with coffee grounds or cat litter before placing them in the trash.

Answers about proper ways to dispose of medicine are sometimes hard to find. A Slate.com article from 2009 gives an in-depth look at proper ways, and reasons, to dispose of your old or expired medication properly.

Find additional information on Boulder's disposal event here.

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