Ditch the old and outdated -- but how?

Just pulled some prescription numbing cream out of my medicine cabinet. It expired in July 2006 -- way back when I was still receiving treatment for cancer and couldn't bear the thought of a needle piercing the skin on top of my implanted port without my Lidocaine cream generously coating the entire area. It was a lifesaver, that cream. But it's been almost two years since I've needed it, two years since it was apparently even effective. Do I really need to keep it around, then? Why, of course not. And that's why I'm about to trash it.
Do you have your own stash of old and outdated medication. If so, you should wade through it and ditch what you no longer need. Don't flush what you've got, though, unless the drug packaging specifically instructs you to do so. And don't just toss your meds in the trash can. These actions can harm the environment and your drinking water.
What should I do with my old cream then? And what should you do with your leftover stock of drugs? Here's what the Office of National Drug Control Policy says you should do. This article offers several options too. You might also look into services provided by your city or county. The City of Cleveland just hosted a medication round-up in May. And the City of San Francisco is urging its residents to safely store old drugs until drop-off sites for expired goods are established.
Tell us: What do you do?

My grandma always had a compost pile. We grandkids never knew exactly why she went to all the work of gathering a bunch of trash and dumping it in a bin in her backyard. She had her reasons, though, and while we didn't grasp them way back when, we understand her intentions now.
Did you know that Americans send about 96 billion pounds worth of food to landfills every year? We produce an enormous amount of food per year, yet we still manage to waste about one quarter of it. Not only is this a blatant slap in the face to the thousands of people who go hungry every night, but it is also an economic burden to society on the whole, for we spend close to $1 billion a year to dispose of this food.
For years, I had the same fitness routine: I would head to the gym with my friends, and we'd do our usual routine of exercises while chatting and reading magazines. After a while, we noticed we hadn't really shaped up much. What gives? We wondered. It's pretty obvious now though -- we were wasting time, putting too much effort into gossiping than working out. For us, it was more about being social than getting fit. Now I work out alone (except when I join a group class) and I'm much more productive that way.
There will be a shortage of toys this coming holiday season due to underestimated demand and the whole toy recall thing -- you know, because of the lead paint and toxic plastic used in the production of some children's play things. "Say it isn't so," you might be saying. Me? I say this is the best news I've heard in a while.
Sometimes I over-shop. I buy too many bananas, a loaf of bread my family never finishes, even ground turkey meat that sits in the fridge beyond it's expiration date. Sadly, these foods end up tossed in the trash. What a waste.
Thanks to Al Gore, we're all getting a little more aware of CO2 emissions and global warming. But here's another threat to our earth, and it comes from the garbage dump: Methane. Methane is produced by landfills, that place where most of your garbage is probably going. And methane in the atmosphere traps more heat than CO2 -- by a lot.
As do many people, I hate wasting food. So, although it's a poor excuse for overeating, the fact there's "just a little left in the pan and it won't really keep" is one of my most common pitfalls when it comes to portion control. 











