When dumped in the trash or flushed down the drain, pharmaceuticals can contaminate our environment – and, when left in medicine cabinets, drugs can cause accidental overdoses.

How can we reclaim pharmaceuticals to protect people and the environment? Extended producer responsibility. In 2010, PSI led a national coalition to pass the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act and change related regulations that made it possible for retail pharmacies to host drug take-back programs for unwanted medicines, including controlled substances. That year, we developed model pharmaceuticals EPR legislation with our national coalition; by 2012, PSI Member Alameda County had used our model to establish the first pharmaceuticals EPR ordinance in the country, which was upheld by the courts despite industry appeals.

In 2016, we published How-to Guide to Drug Take-Back: Managing a Pharmacy-based Collection Program; in 2018, we developed marketing materials for how to deal with unused meds, including a poster, brochure, and physician brochure. Our work has helped pass pharmaceuticals EPR laws in eight states and 23 local jurisdictions. In 2023, Oregon enacted an amendment to its 2019 EPR law, which expands the type of facilities at which covered drugs under drug takeback programs may be disposed.

What can you do? Tell your representatives that you support pharmaceuticals EPR legislation. Then, learn where to safely dispose of pharmaceuticals in your community.

If you’re a PSI Member or Partner, search our Resource Library for in-depth information on pharmaceutical stewardship in the United States and around the world and our Legislation Library for a history of pharmaceutical EPR bills and laws in the U.S.