How to Safely Dispose of Prescription Medications: The Earth-friendly Way to Do It by Jan Mostrom
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Do you have a lot of expired or unused prescriptions at home? You’re not alone!
Keeping unneeded prescriptions around the house can be dangerous, especially if they’re pills like Opioids (ex. OxyContin) or Benzodiazepines ("Benzos," ex. Xanax), These medications can cause accidental overdoses when taken incorrectly.
To keep everyone in your home safe, it’s a good idea to regularly get rid of unused or expired medications. That said, I’ve learned that many meds aren’t supposed to simply be thrown out or flushed down the toilet because they’ll pollute the ground water. I called our local health department and I learned how to safely get rid of expired or unused prescriptions. It’s easy:
- Cross off your name and prescription number from the medicine bottle.
- Return the prescriptions to: your local health department, police department, pharmacy, DEA facility or wherever else your community accepts expired or unused pills (The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) organizes National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days every year).
Please note that, according to Shatterproof, “many of these locations are law enforcement offices, but there’s no risk of arrest or police involvement on take-back days. The process is designed to be safe, convenient and anonymous.”
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