89
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 14 May 2025
89 points (97.8% liked)
science
18821 readers
1056 users here now
A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
rule #1: be kind
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Do antibiotics decay over time? Like, if we dry compost them for some months or years, can they then be dumped into traditional sewer/septic lines without causing this issue?
All medications should be disposed of separately to other waste. I'm not sure how it's handled worldwide, but my country allows disposal in community pharmacies.
Many antibiotics (e.g. pretty much all penicillins) don't get broken down significantly on passing through the body, so a major source of contamination is coming from human waste and inducing bacterial resistance in the bacteria in the wastewater system.
The real solution here is to reduce unnecessary antibiotic usage.