Contact: Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Marketing and Communications Director, Product Stewardship Institute, rachel@productstewardship.us or 617-236-4866
Springfield, MO — Responsible medication disposal awareness continues to increase in Missouri, where a consumer-education campaign began its second year with a spring-cleaning theme. Distributed to pharmacies throughout the state and shared on social media, the materials are designed to reduce the amount of medications that are trashed or flushed each year.
The campaign aims to help Missouri residents responsibly empty their medicine cabinets by connecting them with resources – including an interactive map – to facilitate convenient drop off for safe disposal. According to the EPA, flushed medications can create as much as 2,300 tons of hazardous waste annually, pollute drinking water, and harm aquatic species. Putting meds in the trash increases their risk of being abused: Medications are a top source of accidental poisoning for children. More information is at www.tinyurl.com/missouri-meds.
Created by the Missouri Product Stewardship Council (MOPSC) with the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), the project is part of a growing movement to develop perennial statewide take-back programs, partially in response to the opioid epidemic: Statistics show that seven out of 10 people who abuse prescription pharmaceuticals obtain them from friends or family – and often from home medicine cabinets.
“People with unused medications in their medicine cabinets shouldn’t have to wait for a twice-yearly DEA take-back day to safely dispose of them,” said Angie Snyder, Chair of the MOPSC Pharms Workgroup. “This campaign will help protect people and the environment.”
“Missouri’s take-back campaign is a great way to educate consumers about pharmaceuticals responsibility,” said Scott Cassel, CEO and Founder of PSI. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Missouri Product Stewardship Council to make sure all residents connect with these valuable resources.”
Missouri’s program is part of a nationwide push for health Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs and legislation. In 2022, Illinois became the seventh U.S. state – with Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington State, New York, and California – to enact an EPR law that requires drug manufacturers to pay for and run a statewide take-back program.
PSI has been working for 15 years on pharmaceuticals take-back laws and policies, including developing model drug take-back legislation. In 2010, the organization lead the national effort to enact the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act, which made it possible for pharmacies to accept unused drugs.
ABOUT PSI
The Product Stewardship Institute is a policy advocate and consulting nonprofit that pioneered product stewardship in the United States. Since 2000, PSI has helped enact 131 extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws across 16 product categories in 33 states — the bedrock of the circular economy. We work with governments, academia, nonprofits, and business to ensure that products are responsibly managed from design to end of life. Join us at www.productstewardship.us.
ABOUT MOPSC
The Missouri Product Stewardship Council (MO PSC) is a coalition of local governments, businesses, and other stakeholders that aim to reduce waste, increase reuse and recycling, save local governments money, and support jobs. We take a product stewardship approach, which seeks to share responsibility with product manufacturers and creates accountability for managing waste, particularly at the post-consumer stage. www.missouripsc.org