The owner of an Ottawa pharmacy is apologizing after thousands of old prescription slips spilled out of a truck and ended up scattered along a busy Gatineau road.

Scott Watson, the owner and pharmacist at Watson’s Pharmacy and Wellness Centre on Main Street, said he found several bags that appeared to be garbage when he was cleaning out his basement.

He asked a friend to dispose of the garbage bags, which later tumbled out of the truck. The bags ripped open and prescriptions spilled onto Maloney Boulevard, where they were found Friday morning.

“I feel horrible,” Watson said. “It’s not what we do at Watson’s pharmacy. We do this properly, we do it by the book.”

The prescriptions were all written years ago and were filled by pharmacists at Nelson Drugs , which occupied the Main Street building before Watson set up shop.

Watson said all of the prescriptions were collected from the side of the road and will be properly shredded. He said he's notified the Ontario College of Pharmacists and the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario about the incident.