Take advantage of any community drug take-back programs. A local community usually schedules a "Take-Back Day" and allows the public to drop off unwanted medication at a central location for proper disposal. Call your city or county government’s household trash and recycling service to see if a take-back program is available in your community. The Drug Enforcement Administration, working with state and local law enforcement agencies, is sponsoring National Prescription Drug Take Back Days throughout the United States.
The local independent pharmacy in my town allows customers to return unwanted and expired non-controlled medication for destruction. The medications are emptied into an incineration box and about once a week the container is picked up by a waste company and taken to an incinerator for destruction. Take my words of advice here, if you want your local independent pharmacy to dispose of your medication for you, it would be best to allow them to fill it for you in the first place.
I have not seen a national chain pharmacy offer this service and this may not be available in all states. Be aware that this is for non-controlled substances only. Under federal law and DEA regulations, controlled substances, such as narcotic pain medication, cannot be returned to a pharmacy for destruction. However, your local pharmacy in partnership with your local police department may sponsor a Drug Take Back Day where controlled substances can be dropped off for destruction.
Check the website RxDrugDropBox for availability of a medication drop box at your local police department. Controlled substances, such a narcotic pain medications, can be disposed of in the drop boxes as well as all other types of medication. Be sure to black out , mark out, or remove any personal information from the prescription labels before dropping medication in the box.
I have not seen a national chain pharmacy offer this service and this may not be available in all states. Be aware that this is for non-controlled substances only. Under federal law and DEA regulations, controlled substances, such as narcotic pain medication, cannot be returned to a pharmacy for destruction. However, your local pharmacy in partnership with your local police department may sponsor a Drug Take Back Day where controlled substances can be dropped off for destruction.
Check the website RxDrugDropBox for availability of a medication drop box at your local police department. Controlled substances, such a narcotic pain medications, can be disposed of in the drop boxes as well as all other types of medication. Be sure to black out , mark out, or remove any personal information from the prescription labels before dropping medication in the box.
If you choose to dispose of medications yourself, remember the goal is to dispose of medication in a way that minimizes risk of diversion and accidental ingestion by children or pets. A common and effective way to disposed of small amounts of unwanted medication is to mix the tablets or capsules with an unappealing substance such as wet coffee grounds or used kitty litter. Then dispose of the mixed substance in a sealed container in the trash that is unavailable to children or pets. This is the method recommended on the FDA's website for home destruction.
What if you don't drink coffee and don't own a cat? I fall into this category, myself. If it's just a few pills I mix the tablets with general nasty kitchen trash (slimy lettuce! moldy spaghetti!) and throw it away in a sealed container such as a yogurt container that is taped shut.
When I performed small amounts of on-site drug destruction while working as a consulting pharmacist, I would fill an empty bottle about halfway full with liquid and use it for drug destruction. For safety, I'd use an empty bleach, disinfectant, or cleanser bottle rather than a milk jug or water bottle. Usually the liquid was plain water but stale coffee, flat diet soda and the janitor's mop water made it into the jug on occasion. I placed tablets and capsules to be destroyed directly in the water to dissolve and then poured in any liquid medication. I then capped the bottle and secured the lid with tape. I wrote 'waste' on the sealed bottle and placed it in the trash.
The one exception to the 'don't flush' rule is fentanyl patches. This is the one drug that the FDA still recommends that patients flush. The used patches have some active drug remaining and pose a substantial risk to children and pets if ingested or chewed. Drug abusers have been known to remove used patches from the trash. Once the patch is removed, fold it in half with the sticky sides together, and flush.
Although it may take a bit of investigation, there are several ways to disposed of unwanted medication. Any of these methods is safer than leaving those old, unwanted, prescription medications in the cabinet.
What if you don't drink coffee and don't own a cat? I fall into this category, myself. If it's just a few pills I mix the tablets with general nasty kitchen trash (slimy lettuce! moldy spaghetti!) and throw it away in a sealed container such as a yogurt container that is taped shut.
When I performed small amounts of on-site drug destruction while working as a consulting pharmacist, I would fill an empty bottle about halfway full with liquid and use it for drug destruction. For safety, I'd use an empty bleach, disinfectant, or cleanser bottle rather than a milk jug or water bottle. Usually the liquid was plain water but stale coffee, flat diet soda and the janitor's mop water made it into the jug on occasion. I placed tablets and capsules to be destroyed directly in the water to dissolve and then poured in any liquid medication. I then capped the bottle and secured the lid with tape. I wrote 'waste' on the sealed bottle and placed it in the trash.
The one exception to the 'don't flush' rule is fentanyl patches. This is the one drug that the FDA still recommends that patients flush. The used patches have some active drug remaining and pose a substantial risk to children and pets if ingested or chewed. Drug abusers have been known to remove used patches from the trash. Once the patch is removed, fold it in half with the sticky sides together, and flush.
Although it may take a bit of investigation, there are several ways to disposed of unwanted medication. Any of these methods is safer than leaving those old, unwanted, prescription medications in the cabinet.
