National Association of Counties Wants Pharmaceutical Firms to Reclaim Medicines

摘要

The National Association of Counties approved a resolution July 28 at its annual meeting that encourages pharmaceutical manufacturers to develop programs to collect unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines as a way to keep those medicines out of landfills.rnThe resolution notes that Pharmaceuticals are "an emerging environmental contaminant that are detected in surface waters around the United States and in the drinking water of 24 major metropolitan areas affecting 41 million Americans." Some of the Pharmaceuticals may enter the environment by passing through human bodies, the resolution says, but disposal of medicines "by flushing into wastewater or disposal in the solid waste stream contributes to contamination."