Why not just throw expired or unused medications in the trash? When thrown in the trash or, more often, flushed down the toilet, these medications then dissolve and are distributed via public water. Sex hormones, antibiotics, mood stabilizers, anti-convulsants and psychology medications are just some of the many chemicals now found in not only public drinking water, but animal habitats surrounding 24 major metro areas, the Bay Area included. Current water treatment facilities are not equipped to filter out prescription medications, so these chemicals are directly ingested by humans of all ages, along with countless animals. The effect of this tainted water on humans is still being tested. Animals, on the other hand, are highly affected by even minute amounts of prescription medications: estrogen causes male fish to become female; antidepressants cause lobster to become more aggressive; Prozac induced reproduction in shellfish.

Established May 2007 by the Teleosis Institute, the Green Pharmacy program prevented nearly 700 pounds of unused or expired medications from being absorbed into Bay Area soil and waterways in its first 6 months of operations. As a Berekley-based non-profit dedicated to sustainable medicine, Teleosis “aims to implement a product stewardship model in which all the participants in the product lifecycle—manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and disposers— share the responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals,” according to their website.

According to Dr. Joel Kreisberg, executive director of the  Teleosis Institute, the purpose of collecting data on unused medicine is to identify which pharmaceuticals are most often unused or over-prescribed. “By deepening our understanding of the quantities of medicines discarded, we can better comprehend the effectiveness of our current pharmacological approaches to illness, presenting a case for sustainable health care.” Kreisberg said. Teleosis’ Green Pharmacy program includes 17 Bay Area pharmacies and medical offices that take back expired or unused medications and disposes of them properly, without harming the local water, soil, animal or plant life. For a complete list of drop-off locations, click here.