Programs that accept and safely dispose of unwanted or outdated medication. Substances that qualify for the program typically include such things as prescription drugs, nonprescription medication, acne therapies, athlete's foot treatment, vitamin and mineral supplements and throat lozenges. Medication disposal programs provide a environmentally safe alternative to flushing medications down the toilet where they may not be completely removed by the sewage treatment process or discarding them with household garbage where they may be found and consumed by children or animals or enter into the groundwater supply.

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Programs that provide for the collection and safe disposal of "sharps" including syringes, needles with attached tubing, lancets and other materials that have been used by individuals with serious health conditions such as diabetes who manage their care at home. Included are collection boxes and kiosks for used sharps made available to the public by hospitals, pharmacies, health departments, mobile van programs, housing projects, police and fire stations and other community-based organizations; residential pickup services that give people special containers for their used sharps that can be placed at the curbside and picked up trained special waste handlers; and mail back programs that give people special containers that can be filled and mailed to designated facilities for disposal. The objective of these programs is to provide for the proper containment of sharps, and ensure that family members, sanitation workers and other people in the community are protected from potential injury or transmission of blood borne diseases due to needle sticks.

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