Regarding the Chemistry World Article “What to do with leftover prescription drugs?” (http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2012/May/drug-waste-unused-medicine.asp), there were some issues with the article that led to some false tension between the authors and Michael Depledge.
Professor Depledge rightly points out the issue of API/metabolite excretion and that this may be the real issue we should be concerned with. I made this point as well in my interview with Hayley Birch, pointing out that only bringing “silver bullet” technology to Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) or reformulating medications as biologics could really solve both excretion and unused medication disposal problems. This would also address the hotspot issue that Professor Depledge raises.
It is also important to note that the authors agree that unused pharmaceuticals are not the first place to be concerned with when it comes to APIs in water – which further supports the main point of the paper that major efforts to take-back medications are not currently warranted environmentally.
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