Alameda County may pass a law requiring the pharmaceutical industry to foot the bill for getting rid of unused medication.

The county's Board of Supervisors may vote on the Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance during its meeting on Tuesday.

Alameda County residents can already drop off expired and leftover drugs in 28 places, but it comes with a price tag of $330,000 a year, a cost that county officials say the drug companies should pay.

Advocates for the disposal programs say it saves lives by preventing accidental drug overdose and keeping flushed pills from contaminating water. Critics of the bill say no evidence shows drug take-back programs help the environment or curb drug abuse.

The pharmaceutical industry is paying for a similar drug disposal program already underway in San Francisco.