How Do I Properly Dispose of Unused Medication?

How do I properly dispose of unused medication? I hear this question almost every day. A lot of people expect to just bring it back to the pharmacy. I had a guy the other day bring in a plastic grocery bag full of old pill bottles. He set it on the counter and when the technician grabbed it to see what was in it he said “You have possession of it now. It’s yours.” Of course, he was kidding. We know our patients really well and we joke with each other a lot. But, really, how do you dispose of medication properly? There are several ways to answer that question.

Why Can’t I Just Bring It Back to the Pharmacy?

Because this is the most common idea, let’s address it first. The obvious answer is that you properly dispose of unused medication by simply bringing it back to the very place where you got it….or can you? For your pharmacy to be able to accept medication for disposal, it must register with the DEA as an authorized collector. As an authorized collector you must have a system in place to render that medication unusable.

This is not as simple as it seems and a lot of retail chains are hesitant to get into this business. It would be a great service for our patients but I am not sure the big guys are going to go for this any time soon. Some of the smaller, independent pharmacies will volunteer to be authorized collectors so they can serve their patients better. To find a collection site in your area you can check here. A search in my area reveals two independent pharmacies and one hospital. I contacted one of the independent pharmacies and was told that the service is only available to their customers, and not the general public. The owner said he wanted to help more patients but the cost was prohibitive.

Can I Dispose of Medication at Home?

Yes, you can and it isn’t too difficult. It is safe to throw medication in the trash. The best way to do this is to make the medication unusable by someone else. Empty the tablets, capsules, patches, or whatever dosage form you have into a sealable container or plastic bag. Add something to the bag that would deter someone from wanting to look in there. Coffee grounds, water, or kitty litter, are all good ideas.

Kitty litter + water may be the best combo, especially if we are talking about pain medication or something an addict would want. After the medication has been mixed in there, you can seal it and just throw the whole thing in the trash. Do not dispose of bottles of medication that have your name on them. Empty the pills out or remove your name from the bottle before you throw it away.

Some people believe flushing medication down the toilet is a good way to dispose of medication. I don’t agree with this and neither do the DEA or EPA. It is not likely to affect our water supply but why take the risk? I did learn something new during my research for this article: the FDA has a list of medications it recommends to flush down the toilet as soon as you decide you aren’t going to take them any more. These are medications that could be life threatening if a kid, other family member, or pet got into them. The list is mostly comprised of very strong pain medications.

Here’s a good example: if you use Fentanyl patches for pain, what do you do with the patch after you remove it? It still has active medication in it even after you remove it. If you throw it in the trash and a toddler puts it in their mouth, or your dog goes through your trash and eats it, it could very easily kill them. I don’t love the idea of flushing it, but I guess it beats the alternative.

For syringes, I recommend using a thick plastic container with a lid. A sharps container is ideal. However, a laundry detergent bottle or another thick container will work fine. You don’t want to use a milk carton. It isn’t thick enough and the needles might poke through the side. What we want to avoid is someone who handles the trash getting stuck with your needle. There is no need to break off the needle or bend it. This only puts you at risk for sticking yourself by accident.

If you are afraid of drug addicts going through your trash, you may put something else in the container to make it unpleasant such as our old friend, the kitty litter. Just be sure not to reach inside the container to put something else in there. This also puts you at risk for a needle stick. Once the container is about 3/4 full just cap it, tape it closed, and throw it in the regular trash. Sharps does have a mail back program that you can consider, if you don’t mind paying for shipping.

What is the Best Way to Properly Dispose of Unused Medication?

If you ask an expert how to properly dispose of unused medication safely, most will tell you to participate in a medication take back event. This is an event where the DEA or local law enforcement agency will set up a drop off location for you to bring your unused or expired medication to dispose of. You can bring it in the original containers or empty it into a larger container. If you drop off original prescription bottles, be sure you remove your name first. The collector will then send everything they collect off for incineration, which is the most effective and safest way to dispose of medication.

The DEA puts on an event about twice a year called Got Drugs? This is a nationwide event where collection sites are set up at high schools, fire stations, police stations, etc. where you can drop of unused or expired medication. The next date for this event will be Saturday October  27th from 10:00am – 2:00pm. The dropoff locations are available at the link above.

I would highly recommend that you participate in this event if you can. More importantly, if you have elderly parents or grandparents, go pay them a visit and clean out their medication cabinets. Take them with you to the event and get rid of things they don’t need. Maybe you can even take them out for lunch while you are out. It can be very dangerous for elderly people to have medications around that they aren’t actively taking. Sometimes they can get confused and take the wrong medicine.

If you get it out of the house for them, you remove that risk.

So,  you can see that you have a lot of options when you need to properly dispose of unused medication. The worst thing you can do is nothing, and let old medication sit around the house forever. In my opinion, this is an accident waiting to happen. I will be participating in the Got Drugs? event in October and I hope you will too. Keep in mind that you are only supposed to drop off medication from your own household at this event. You don’t have to identify yourself, or who the medication is for. But, before you decide to take a collection from every house on your street, please consider the rules. Just let your neighbors know they can bring their medications themselves.

Thanks again for reading. I am sure you know someone this article would help. Please share with them.

HP