Provides for the disposal of pharmaceutical drugs and controlled substances

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the environmental conservation law as to the disposal of pharmaceutical drugs and controlled substances, first, by defining the language of pharmaceutical drugs and controlled substances, and secondly by providing that each county's sheriffs department must implement and operate, by April 19, 2010, a permanent program for residential citizens of pharmaceutical drugs and controlled substance acceptance and collection to be disposed of in a department regulated waste incinerator that excludes collection and acceptance from hospitals, healthcare facilities and pharmacies.

Justification

Federal law prohibits anyone other than law enforcement from taking possession of drugs once they are prescribed and dispensed. Therefore, nearly all unused pharmaceuticals enter either our solid waste system or our sewage system. Pharmaceuticals flushed down the toilet pass through our sewage treatment plants, many of which are not designed to screen for these chemicals. Likewise, Pharmaceuticals discarded in landfills can seep into the surrounding water-table and the New York State Great Lakes. A 2002 sampling of 139 streams across 30 states found that 80 percent had measureable concentrations of prescription and non-prescription drugs. Exposure, even to low levels of pharmaceutical drugs, has been shown to have a negative effect on fish and other aquatic species and may have a negative effect on human health.

Proper disposal is defined of as disposal in a NYSDEC regulated NYCRR Part 360 regulated solid waste incinerator. If enacted, this bill would provide a safe and environmentally sound method for the disposal of unused prescription drugs. Controlled substances are included in this action as there presently is no other legal method in the State of New York of managing controlled substances in unwanted pharmaceutical drug waste. Implementation of this bill would greatly decrease the amount

of pharmaceutical drugs and controlled substances in both the sewage systems and the solid waste systems.

In fact, in 2008 a coalition of 8 counties, 2 local municipalities, law enforcement agencies and local organizations participates in 26 regional collection events in the Western New York Area, where they collected over 3,236 pounds of drugs from 1516 residents.

The costs for implementation by each county is minimum, if at all. The materials that are collected are disposed of the same way that regular garbage collection is. In some pilot programs, the incinerator companies did not charge the county for the use of the incinerator for disposal of the materials. If they do charge, however, the cost would be very negligible; the county would be charged the normal rate of garbage collection, and on average the county would only accumulate about half a ton at an event, costing roughly $25 to dispose of the materials.

Without a safe and effective method for disposal, prescription drugs are left in either the sewage or solid waste systems, where there are harmful effects to the environment and potentially to human health, or they may be left indefinitely in medicine cabinets. If left in medicine cabinets, they pose a major threat of potential prescription drug misuse and abuse.

The importance of providing a safe method of disposal to both the environment and people cannot be understated. If enacted, this bill would provide a safe measure to all citizens of the state to securely dispose all prescription drugs and controlled substances.

Legislative history

S.6228A of 2009-2010; Referred to Environmental Conservation

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This bill shall take effect immediately.