I just learned something important about how the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) now suggests we get rid of our old prescription drugs at home. While in the past I've seen recommendations to flush them down the toilet, this is no longer advised, unless the patient information on the packaging tells you to do so.

As I'm sure we've all now heard, too many flushed drugs have -- or could -- build up and contaminate the water supply.

These days they also advise against just tossing them in the trash, since they could still be found and used.

So now the EPA suggests mixing the pills in with an “undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds,” putting that in a container or sealable bag, and tossing it.

Then, you should peel off or cover up any personal information on a prescription bottle and also throw that away. (Although in our community, one of the pharmacies has a recycling program, where you bring back your old pill bottles and they grind them up into plastic "dust" which can be recycled.

(So that's what I've been doing for about a year now -- thought I still try to remove the label and trash it before I return the empty bottles.)

Apparently there are a small number of very dangerous drugs that the Food and Drug Administration actually does advise be flushed directly down the toilet, which can be found here. (These drugs are so uncommon that only flushing these should not impact the water. )

Currently, legislation regarding prescription drugs bars organizations such as pharmacies from collecting unused drugs for proper disposal, but various government agencies are working to modify this.

That way, instead of waiting, you could just give your unused prescriptions back to the same pharmacy you got them from in the first place.

Our community has drug disposal days periodically where the police departments set up a place where people can bring all their drugs to be disposed of - no questions asked. All the pills are emptied into a huge trash bag and the bottles etc. are crushed. I'm not sure how they dispose of the drugs, but they don't end up in our water supply. It's a problem as it is because most of the drugs are excreted into the sewer supply from us taking them, so we don't need to have more of them flushed down the toilet. I'm not sure how much of those drugs make their way into our drinking water supply. A good water filter helps.

I'm sure the community disposal program is the best plan, Yonuh. But I thought I'd share the other recommendation for those who don't have access to such a program.

Even when my father-in-law died (could it already be 20 years ago?) the hospice nurse flushed the remaining drugs down the toilet. I was amazed, and concerned. But apparently that was standard policy then.) (And he lived in a community that gets its water from the Mississippi River.)

I think it's still standard policy in some places, Anne. I wonder how many other communities have the drug disposal days as we do here?