Medication disposal

Unused medications pose a potential danger for children and others. Safe medication disposal can prevent an accidental exposure or intentional abuse. Flushing down the toilet may cause undue harm to the environment. Simply throwing them in the trash without proper precautions could also lead to environment harm but also has the potential for children or animal exposures.

There are safe and environmentally friendly methods for safe medication disposal.

• Walgreens has many locations that offer a safe medication disposal box. They also offer DisposeRx packets that you can obtain to safely throw away medication in your home trash.
  
  

  Medications accepted:	What's not accepted:
  Prescription medications, ointments and patches	Needles and thermometers
  Over the counter medications, ointments, lotions, and liquids	Hydrogen peroxide
  Pet medications	Illegal drugs
  Vitamins
  Aerosol cans
  Inhalers

  Please visit https://www.walgreens.com/topic/pharmacy/safe-medication-disposal.jsp for more information and locations of your nearest drop box.
• DEA National Take Back Day.
  
  This program is offered twice a year, generally in April and October. This offers a safe and anonymous way to dispose of your unwanted, unused or expired prescription medications. Please visit https://www.dea.gov/takebackday for more information, dates and locations offering the services near you.

If you cannot find a disposal area near you, here are some ways to dispose of them at home.

• Any capsules or tablets mix with used coffee grounds, dirt, or kitty litter in a sealed bag or container. Place in trash. Do not crush tablets or capsules.
• Any liquid medication, pour over paper towels and place in used coffee grounds or kitty litter in a sealed bag or container. Place in trash
• Make sure when placing in trash that it is out of sight or reach of children and animals.
• Visit https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know/drug-disposal-fdas-flush-list-certain-medicines for a list of FDA approved medications that can be flushed in the toilet.