How to Dispose of Old Vitamins.

Anna@Green Talk — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:21:52 +0000

Old Vitamins starting to decompose

The first of the year some how invokes that “must “declutter feeling.” Is it being indoor? A new year? Who know. All I do know is my pantry is the bane of my existence. Especially the shelves that contain the vitamins.

I swear they grow expontentially. And no, Suzanne Sommers doesn’t live with me. However, if there were a male Suzanne Sommers, it would be my hubby. He is a vitamin addict. We have vitamins that I have no idea what they are for. Three or four containers of the same vitamin. Why? He can’t see what he has and doesn’t have. Do you have a vitamin addict in your house?

DeCluttering the Pantry

I have challenged you several time on Green Talk to declutter your pantry. I don’t know about you, but when the pantry is crowded I often buy more than I should. Why? How the heck can see you behind 10 cans of tomato sauce? Or all the empty boxes that the cavemen fail to throw out. Are you with me here?

Hubby is the buyer in the household and love a good sale. Hence, in my opinion, the clutter. Let’s be frank. Hubby needs a full time clutter assistant or an intervention, which ever comes first. Who is this “person” in your home?

More Vitamins in a Square Mile Then People in NJ

Well, this year I had it with the overpopulation of vitamins. There was one designated shelf for vitamins that has grown in five years to three shelves. I kid you not. And between you and me, how many do you think have expired?

So, I methodically alphabetized all the vitamins. Before, you say, Anna, come on, get a life, there is a method to my madness. I figured if he saw with his vitamin A enriched eyes how many multiple bottles of the same vitamins he had, he would be more careful in the future. Fat chance, but a green girl is gotta do what’s she has to do. (Okay, how many bottles of vitamin C do you need? With all those vitamins who gets colds anyways?)

Oh, did I tell you. He even had half bottles of the same vitamins. You don’t want to know how many hours this little exercise took me.

Don’t get me wrong. Hubby is a lovable guy but this vitamin thing has me pretty wacked.

Finally, hubby knew that he had to clean up the vitamins starring him the face. As he sorted, he made different piles:

expired vitamins (surprise, surprise)
not my vitamins (ie belongs to the kids, the dog we don’t have, and maybe a distant cousin’s) and
finally, the ones that he wanted to keep.

So What Do I Do With the Old Vitamins?

So, as you can imagine, I had alot of vitamins to dispose of. Throwing them down the toliet wasn’t an option. According to the EPA,

“[s]ome medicines, vitamins and other supplements poured down the drain or flushed down the toilet may pass through wastewater treatment plants. They may enter lakes, rivers and streams which are often used as sources for community drinking water supplies. Watertreatment plants are generally not equipped to routinely remove medicines and supplements.”

As I search online for alternatives, I ran across the following options:

Dissolve them and then put them in plastic bag with coffee grounds or kitty litter. Then, throw them away. If you know anything about me, I never throw away anything. (Ask my sister.)
Give them to the police when there is a US take back program. I did sort out the old medicine and hid them in the house to give to the semi-annual take back program.
Find a participating green pharmacy who will take back medicine. See here for other US state programs. Note, it is not a definitive list since your state might not be on it.
For information in other countries, see EcoLife’s recycling list. Scan down to “Disposing of pharmaceuticals” towards the bottom. Also, see the information on the Northwest Product Stewardship Council.

For the life of me, I couldn’t find anyone to donate the vitamins to. The take back program in my area had occurred. Another one wouldn’t be schedule until April. So, the light bulb came on and I thought why not compost them. They are just minerals, right?

The Experiment

I didn’t want to just throw them in the composter since I couldn’t figure out how they would decompose. However, if I did, some rodent probably would be quite healthy. Those darn animals get into the compost in the winter despite my rodent screen. Plus, some of the vitamins are gel coated. How the heck were they going to decompose?

So, I decided to put them in boiling water. My friend’s college age child who is majoring in chemical engineering suggested that I use vingear to simulate the stomach acid. Clever, huh? However, I tried boiling water first.

Bowl #2 of Old Vitamins that Decomposed in Water

Lo and behold a couple of hours later, I had vitamin soup. Thank goodness it didn’t smell bad since there were old cinamon capsules in the mix. But, it didn’t look particular appetizing.

Guess who had the task of taking it down to the composter? Hubby.

So, next spring I expect to have the healthiest compost in the neighborhood!

Join the Conversation

How do you dispose of your old vitamins?
Do you have a place to give them to?
Do have a rule of thumb to know when vitamins expire?
Do you compost them too?
Can you add to the list of international or state takeback programs?

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NJ Residents: Recycle your Unwanted or Expired Medication Nov 14, 2009

Anna@Green Talk — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:29:55 +0000

On November 14, New Jersey residents have the opportunity to clean out their medicine cabinets of unwanted and/or expired medication through the OperationMedicineCabinetNJ.com program from 10 am to 2 pm. According to the program,

“Every day 2,500 youth age 12 to 17 abuse a pain reliever for the very first time. More teens abuse prescription drugs than any illicit drug except marijuana. In 2006, more than 2.1 million teens ages 12 to 17 reported abusing prescription drugs. Among 12- and 13-year-olds, prescription drugs are the drug of choice.

Because these drugs are so readily available, and many teens believe they are a safe way to get high, teens who wouldn’t otherwise touch illicit drugs might abuse prescription drugs. And not many parents are talking to them about it, even though teens report that parental disapproval is a powerful way to keep them away from drugs.”

In addition, many people throw out their expired prescription or throw them down the toliets. These drugs could end up in illicit hands or into our waterways. On the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s website, a 20o2 US Geological study revealed that 80 percent of US streams contain small amount of medications. Moreover, an Associated Press Investigation found trace amounts of such drugs as antibodics, anti-convulsants, mood stablizers and sex hormones in the drinking water of 41 million Americans.

For more information, as to where to drop off your prescriptions, see here. (Just click on your county to find out the closest participating town.) I would love to see these drop-offs become permanent instead of only this one time.

If your state has a similar program or you are aware of pharmacies or hospitals that take back medicine, please list it in the comments below for everyone to see.

Just a side note, I just received an email late tonight from Community Green letting me know about this program. Neither my children’s high school or middle school where kids are at risk, sent an email about this program. Did your school?