See here is my conundrum. I have some antibiotics that my son didn't use. I need to dispose of it. The CDC actually suggests flushing it down the toilet, because it's better in the water supply than being accidentally ingested. This feels wrong to me, but the CDC says to do it...
You shouldn't be in that situation. Antibiotics are not supposed to be discretionary medicine that you take until you feel better. Your son should have finished the prescription. Stopping antibiotics prematurely is one of the ways that antibiotic resistant bacteria develop.
Why not bring it back to pharmacy? In UK and other EU countries pharmacies collect and have ways to dispose of medical waste. Same goes for the shops that sell alkaline batteries - they have special waste bins for disposing of used ones.
I'm completely serious, my undergrad degree is in chem and my grad degree is pharmacology. Bleach effectively "burns up" most organic chemicals. Bleach is so reactive that, while it's "dangerous", it's not a persistent environmental toxin. The thing about ventilation is re:reactions with amines (most drugs have nitrogen's) that make tear gas-like stuff. Whomever disposes of antibiotics is doing this, or chucking it in an incinerator. Burning it is better, but e.g. an oil drum filled with garbage and some gasoline will vaporize a fair bit of stuff and complete combustion is not nearly convenient as stuff you can buy at the grocery store
The antibiotic series I took this winter all had big warnings (presumably from more recent CDC guidance?) that extras should be disposed of in their sealed containers in refuse/trash and never flushed or poured down a drain.
