LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV)- A wastewater plant filters out bacteria in sewage water every day but can it filter out prescription drugs?
CEO of the Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority, Greg Ramon, said no.
“When it goes into the Arkansas River, the prescription drugs are still in the river. There aren’t treatment plants designed to remove prescription drugs from their system,” he said.
He said flushing prescription drugs down the toilet ruins the environment.
“It becomes and aquatic issuer for the Arkansas River; it affects the fish, vegetation, and birds that can be affected,” he said.
Just one of the Little Rock Reclamation facilities dumps about 100,000 gallons of water into the Arkansas River a month and all three of their facilities dump about 15 billion gallons of water into the Arkansas River a year.
Ramon said all of that water filters out into other rivers, and if it's tainted, the entire country is impacted.
A few other myths:
- Prescription drugs don't affect trash landfills
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has verified that is false.
The DEA also verified that is false, both can affect the environment.
Ramon said the only way to properly dispose of drugs is to take them to a drug take back drop off, from there, they're properly disposed of by incineration.
“There's three wins here: you get these outdated prescriptions out of your house, you protect your family, and you get to protect the environment," he said.
There will be a drug take back April 28th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Click here for a list of all drug drop off.