Following specific guidelines on medication disposal can help protect children, pets and the environment. Be sure to follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless the information specifically instructs you to do so.
Take advantage of community drug-take- back programs that allow the public to bring unused drugs to 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. Also, the Drug Enforcement Administration, working with state and local law-enforcement agencies, sponsors National Prescription Drug Take Back Days (www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov) throughout the U.S.
If no instructions are given on the drug label and no take-back program is available in your area, throw the drugs in the household trash. First, take them out of their original containers and mix them with something undesirable, like coffee grounds or kitty litter, to make them less appealing or unrecognizable to anyone who might intentionally go through your trash. Put them in a sealable bag, empty can or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of the garbage bag.
—Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Good Neighbor Pharmacy, August 2014
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