Bill would allow drug incineration program

Nebraska pharmacies could participate in a nationwide drug disposal program under a bill heard by the Health and Human Services Committee Jan. 26.

Grand Island Sen. Mike Gloor, sponsor of LB274, said the bill makes changes to the Pharmacy Practice Act that would have a positive environmental impact on the state. Currently, state law allows unused prescription drugs to be returned to the dispensing pharmacy for immediate disposal, he said, which normally means flushing the drugs down the toilet.

Gloor said removing the words “dispensing pharmacy” and “immediate” from state law would allow Nebraska to participate in a nationwide program that provides pharmacies secure containers to collect unused drugs regardless of where they were dispensed. When full, containers are shipped to a medical incinerator for disposal, he said.

“The intent of the bill is keeping medications from going into the groundwater,” Gloor said.

Joni Cover of the Nebraska Pharmacists Association testified in support of the bill, saying a consensus has developed that disposing of drugs by flushing them is not the best practice.

“This [bill] will assist consumers to safely, and in an environmentally friendly way, dispose of medications,” she said.

LB274 allows pharmacies to charge a fee for drug disposal and changes the calculated expiration date for prescriptions from six months to one year.

No opposition testimony was given and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.