Consumers can simply take their old medicines to any Elephant Pharm pharmacy counter where staff there will securely deposit them in special collection bins which are then collected for environmentally safe disposal.

Elephant Pharm Helps Conusmers Safely Dispose of Old Prescriptions, OTC Drugs, Supplements

Few Realize Hazards to People and Environment

Issued October 30, 2007

Taking yet another step to safeguard public health and the environment, Elephant Pharm, the Bay Area�s revolutionary alternative to drug store chains, is launching a program to help customers properly dispose of old non-controlled substance prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, and dietary supplements at its stores in Berkeley, Los Altos, Walnut Creek and San Rafael.

Consumers can simply take their old medicines to any Elephant Pharm pharmacy counter where staff there will securely deposit them in special collection bins which are then collected for environmentally safe disposal.

Elephant�s initiative is part of the Green Pharmacy Pollution Prevention Campaign, a first-of-its-kind pilot study to develop a responsible stewardship model for disposal of consumer pharmaceutical waste. Elephants� stores in the East Bay will be among a dozen permanent take-back sites across the Bay Area.

�This program plays a critical role in supporting public health and environmental  sustainability,� said Kathi Lentzsch, CEO & President of Berkeley-based Elephant Pharm. 

New research is showing the dangerous effects these compounds have on aquatic life and their potential harm to human health. Roughly 54% of consumers dispose of their unused pharmaceuticals in the trash, and 35% flush them down the toilet, according to research published by the Eisenhower Army Medical Center . A growing body of research point to potential environmental and human health dangers, including an EPA finding that estrogens cause male fish to become female; antidepressants cause lobsters to be more aggressive; and  Prozac induces reproduction in shellfish.

The pilot project has been organized by the Berkeley-based Teleosis Institute (www.teleosis.org). The institute� overall mission is to develop effective, sustainable, environmentally responsible health care. The San Rafael store is working with Marin County on a similar program.