I have a lot of prescription drugs and want to throw away the ones I don’t use. Do I throw them out or is there an agency or nonprofit group that accepts them?

It used to be that people would either dispose of their medications by throwing them in the garbage or by flushing them down the drain.

Though national publications may still say it’s OK to throw your medications in the trash or down the drain, Kevin Miller, the city of Napa’s materials diversion administrator, sees it differently.

“California is way ahead with this ... we do not advocate either” flushing or tossing. God bless our state! The Napa Sanitation District Web site says that flushing medications down the drain can add hard-to-treat pollutants to waste water and harm fish and other aquatic wildlife. When wastewater is treated and reused for landscaping or other purposes, humans are vulnerable to the chemicals contained in medications. Yikes.

Disposing of commonly-used medications in the trash or down the drain is discouraged. A state law, the California Medical Waste Management Act (Health and Safety Code 118286) not only discourages those practices but “prohibits the disposal of home-generated sharps (needles, syringes with needles, and disposable lancets) in the trash or recycling containers.” This new law went into effect Sept. 1, unbeknownst, I’m sure, to most of us.

So what are the environmentally conscious to do?

Napa city and county, you are in luck! The city, county, Napa Recycling & Waste Services, Napa County Recycling & Waste Services, Napa Sanitation District, and St. Helena Hospital are sponsors of the Sharps & Pharmaceutical Collection Event on Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Napa Police Department, 1539 First St., Napa.

This event is part of the “No Drugs Down the Drain” campaign, a week-long statewide educational campaign starting Oct. 4. All residential pharmaceutical waste and sharps are accepted at this event. Sharps should be transported in an approved sharps container, available from pharmacies and physicians (though I would call and check first) or acceptable alternatives such as tightly-sealed and puncture-resistant containers with lids (bleach bottles, coffee cans, etc.). Make sure that the sharps point down, and that you do not bend or break the needle or syringe or put the cap back on the needle.

If you miss the event, take your unwanted pharmaceuticals to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, 889A Devlin Road, on Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more pharmaceutical info, call the Napa Sanitation District at 258-6000.

Sharps can also be dropped off weekdays during business hours at the Napa County Public Health Office, at 2344 Old Sonoma Road, Building G.

For sharps information only, call 253-4471.

What is Glad You Asked?

Glad You Asked attempts to answer readers’ questions. Have any in your system? Send them to me at dmontanez@napanews.com or call me at 256-2224.