If you’re spring cleaning your home, your medicine cabinet is a great place to start. Getting rid of old, expired, unused or extra medication is important. That can help prevent taking the wrong medication by mistake, accidental poisonings or overdoses. Practicing safe medication disposal is important — both for your family and for the environment.
The Safety Problem of Old Medications
It’s easy to end up with a pile of leftover prescription bottles after surgery or due to ongoing medical conditions. If you’ve got a cabinet full of bottles, it can be hard to pay attention to expiration dates. But some expired medicines can be dangerous if you take them. Even if they are not expired, unused medications are dangerous to keep around.
According to the FDA, around 60,000 kids under the age of 6 have to go to the emergency room because they took medications unattended. Two-thirds of those visits happen to children under two. One study found that child-resistant lids were on nearly half of the medications kids took by mistake at a grandparent’s home!
Medication Disposal Is an Environmental Problem
Medication residue is showing up in the water supply, even after sewage treatment, according to recent reports. Most of this comes from leftover medication passed through urine or stool — exactly how your body should work.
Flushing unneeded medications increases this problem. Research has found that doing this also harms fish, birds and other aquatic life, even in small streams. And it could be damaging the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Safe Medication Disposal Is Easy
The good news is that it’s easy to dispose of old medications safely. Many pharmacies, police stations and public libraries have drug disposal boxes.
The process is simple. You walk in, drop the bottles in the bin and walk out. Get an up-to-date listing of disposal locations from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) or the Maryland Department of Health. Be sure to remove labels with personal information on the bottle before disposing.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sponsors National Prescription Drug Take Back Day every year. On April 30, they partner with local agencies to collect unwanted prescriptions.
You can donate some types of medications (not controlled substances) to certain organizations. Talk to your primary care provider to find out if this is an option for your medications. All donated medications must be at least five months out from their expiration date.
Safe Ways to Get Rid of Medications at Home
If you don’t have time or are not physically able to get to a drug drop-off site, the FDA recommends this drug disposal process:
- Double-Wrap — Mix the unwanted medication with trash like cat litter, coffee grounds, dirty diapers — anything stinky or messy that will make it unlikely for someone to dig through. Then put that mixture in a plastic bag, then put the bag in your trash.
- Emergency Flush List — Drugs that are likely to be abused should be flushed if you cannot make it to a drug drop-off site. The FDA’s emergency flush list includes all opioids (like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone).
More to Read
- 4 Common Medication Management Mistakes to Avoid
- The Best Ways To Manage Your Prescription Medications
- Can’t Afford Your Medications? Here’s What You Can Do.
