EPA: Pharmaceuticals in reverse supply chain are hazardous waste

Dive Brief:

• Under a new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), prescription pharmaceuticals sent from healthcare facilities to reverse distributors will be regulated as solid waste and must be evaluated for hazardous classification at the healthcare facility.
• Healthcare facilities and reverse distributors that dispose of prescription pharmaceuticals must register with the EPA, and separate prescription and characteristically hazardous products from non-prescription products.
• The EPA says the new rule was designed to reduce the amount of hazardous waste entering drinking and surface water from people discarding pharmaceuticals by "sewering," or flushing them down sinks and toilets.