Pharmaceutical Wastes

In general, the disposal of expired and other drugs is regulated by the federal EPA and/or its counterpart state agencies if the sole active ingredient in the pharmaceutical in question is a hazardous waste (e.g., epinephrine [P042]), the pharmaceutical contains some other ingredient that results in the pharmaceutical to exhibit a characteristic of hazardous waste (e.g., contains enough alcohol [D001] to be flammable), or the material is otherwise regulated by your state environmental agency.²⁰ Disposal of controlled substances is regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).²¹

Hazardous pharmaceutical wastes are most commonly treated by incineration and the resulting ash is disposed of in a permitted hazardous waste landfill. The federal EPA recommends that non-hazardous and non-controlled drugs should be incinerated in accordance with state and local environmental regulations.^22,23 No drugs should be disposed of into the sanitary sewer, septic systems or in the municipal trash to avoid impacts to the environment and health of the public.²⁴

The disposal of controlled or scheduled drugs under the Controlled Substance Act must be managed according to the regulations issued by the DEA.²¹ Oral healthcare practitioners registered with the DEA may destroy unused controlled substances in accordance with state guidelines, which require appropriate documentation. BMP for the disposal of pharmaceutical waste – a ten-step blueprint for healthcare facilities is presented elsewhere.²⁴