{
  "id": 8259452,
  "title": "At‑home drug disposal products can play an important role in keeping rural Coloradans safe",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/at-home-drug-disposal-products-can-play-an-important-role-in-keeping-8259452",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-18T14:40:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-athome-drug-disposal-products-play.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rural Coloradans are increasingly concerned about safely disposing of unused prescription and over-the-counter medications to keep children and pets safe and prevent environmental contamination. The Food and Drug Administration recommends either taking drugs to a take-back location or mailing them via a prepaid envelope. In Colorado, the state-funded Medication and Sharps Takeback program has collected a significant amount of drugs since 2016. Over 300 drop-off sites across the state and national take-back events provide other disposal options. However, these programs may not be easily accessible in rural areas. At-home disposal products can serve as a viable alternative. Testing popular brands like the Pill Terminator, Deterra Drug Deactivation System, and NarcX+ disposal system revealed varying levels of effectiveness. While the Pill Terminator and Deterra system showed promise in degrading medications when warm water was used, both had some limitations. The NarcX+ system required more time for complete degradation of tablets. Despite these challenges, at-home disposal products can play a crucial role in keeping rural Coloradans safe when used correctly.",
  "summary": "Some Coloradans have a drug problem: old prescription medications clogging their medicine cabinets.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Conversation",
        "title": "At-home drug disposal products can play an important role in keeping rural Coloradans safe",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/at-home-drug-disposal-products-can-play-an-important-role-in-keeping",
        "published": "2026-09-18T12:55:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}