Key Takeaways
Unwanted medications can increase the risk of accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose.
Properly disposing of medications at events like National Prescription Drug Take Back Day can save lives and protect our environment.
If you have no other choice but to dispose of medications in your household trash, follow these three important steps.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) hosts two National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events each year. Anyone who takes medication should use the opportunity to clean out their medicine cabinets. Whether they’re expired, your doctor told you to stop taking them, or ones you have not used and do not plan to use, medications lying around your home may lead to confusion about what to take.
Unwanted medications are also a public safety issue! They increase the risk of accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Properly disposing of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications can save lives and protect our environment.
The next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, Oct. 26, and is held at thousands of convenient locations across the country. Take Back Day provides an opportunity to turn in unwanted medications safely and anonymously. Locations include police and sheriff’s offices, municipal buildings, pharmacies and other health care settings. You can search for participating locations on the official Take Back Day website.
Medications that are collected during Prescription Drug Take Back Day are typically incinerated. This is more environmentally friendly than flushing medications down the toilet or throwing them away in your trash.
If no Take Back Day locations are options for you, check the medicine label for proper disposal instructions or talk to a pharmacist about disposal options your local pharmacy may offer. If you have no choice but to dispose of medications in your household trash, follow these simple steps:
- Remove the medicine from its original container and mix it with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter.
- Place the mixture in a sealable bag or container to prevent medicine from getting out.
- Drop the bag or sealed container with the medication mixture (and the empty medication bottles with labels removed) in the trash.
Don’t forget to rethink medication storage
Disposal is important, but safely storing the medications you keep is a priority, too. Keep your medicines in cool, dry place that is convenient for you. The area should be cool and dry since heat and humidity can damage them or make them less effective. (The bathroom is not a good place to keep your medicines.) Prevent young children and pets from accessing the storage area. They may put what they find in their mouths! Lastly, separate the medications belonging to different members of your household. Using separate shelves or drawers is an easy solution, and makes it less likely that you take the wrong ones by mistake.
