How To Dispose Of Medicine In Your Home

While most people use medications from time to time, how to dispose of medicine safely is often an afterthought. However, unsafe disposal methods put children, animals, and the greater community at risk.

Make sure that you know when and how to dispose of medicine safely with this comprehensive guide.

When To Dispose of Medication

If you’re like many people, you may have a large amount of medication sitting unused in your medicine cabinet.

While it can make sense to keep common over the counter medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen on hand for use on an as-needed basis, there are dangers associated with keeping medications that you do not use or need. You should dispose of both prescription drugs and over the counter medications any time that the medications become expired, are unwanted, or are no longer in use.

For example, if someone has passed away, you should dispose of their medications safely. Medications that have expired should also be disposed of properly, as they may no longer be effective or safe.

While it can be tempting to keep medication “just in case,” this decision can be dangerous to both your health and the health of those in your household, particularly children and pets.

The Dangers of Improper Medication Disposal

Whether you fail to dispose of medication properly or do not dispose of it at all, there are dangers associated with keeping medication around that is no longer wanted, used, or safe. The dangers of improper medication disposal are outlined below.

Accidental Consumption of Expired Medication

If you don’t take care to throw out unused or unneeded medication, you may end up taking the medication when you don’t intend to. For this reason, it’s important to throw out your medication if it has passed its expiration date.

While taking expired medication often isn’t dangerous in the sense that it can make you sick, expired medications may lose potency over time and are less able to treat the medical condition for which they are intended. While it may not be an issue if this means that your acetaminophen is less effective in reducing the pain associated with a headache, it can be a major problem if you take the medication to treat a potentially serious medical issue, such as heart function or infection.

In addition to being less effective, the FDA notes that some medications are subject to the potential growth of bacteria or dangerous organisms, particularly if stored improperly, while other medications, such as antibiotics, can become less effective and contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance in some bacteria. While uncommon, there are also some medications that can degrade into a toxic form.

Increased Risk of Abuse

In addition to increasing your likelihood of consuming an expired medication when you do not intend to, keeping unused or unwanted medications may also contribute to an increased risk of abuse of the drugs.

For example, remaining opioid pain medications that go unused after a surgery, benzodiazepines that remain after a stressful time period that has passed, or amphetamine drugs that are no longer needed all have the potential for abuse and addiction by a household member.

If disposed of improperly, these medications pose a serious risk to the health of children and pets. For this reason, medications with a high potential for abuse and addiction, including opioids, sleep medications, certain cough syrups, barbiturates, and amphetamines, should be disposed of with extra care.

Environmental Concerns

Medications contain chemicals that have the potential to damage the environment when disposed of improperly. Drugs that are flushed down the toilet, rinsed down the sink, or thrown into the garbage have the potential to contaminate groundwater, surface water, and even drinking water systems. These medications may cause malformation in fish and other animals that consume the water, and it also may affect human cells. When it comes time to dispose of your medication, make sure to do so properly in order to protect the environment.

Types of Medications That Can Be Safely Discarded

Any medication that is unused, unwanted, or expired can be safely discarded, including over the counter medications, prescription drugs, and illegal drugs. However, how and where you discard the drugs may vary depending on the type of substance.

Most over the counter medications and prescription drugs can be disposed of at home or at a pharmacy, but controlled substances and illegal drugs are best disposed of at a pharmacy or “take back” event, which may be hosted by your local police department with no questions asked.

How to Dispose of Medication Safely at Home

How best to safely dispose of medication varies depending on the type of drug that you are attempting to discard. Depending on the type of drug, some medications may be disposed of at home using one of two methods: flushing the medication down the toilet or disposing of it in the trash.

Flushing

Medications that can be harmful to others are often accompanied by instructions to flush them down the sink or toilet when they are no longer needed and cannot be disposed of at a sponsored “take back” event. The label of the medication should indicate that the medication is safe to flush.

As noted above, there are some medications that cannot be safely disposed of in the sink or toilet due to concerns about traces of the medications appearing in the water supply. The FDA has approved the following medications for safe disposal via flushing if you are unable to take the medication to a “take back” event.

According to theFDA’s Flush List, you can flush the following medications if you can’t make it to a drug take-back facility and need to dispose of your medication right away:

• Benzhydrocodone / Acetaminophen (Apadaz)
• Buprenorphine (Belbuca, Bunavail, Butrans, Suboxone, Subutex, Zubsolv)
• Diazepam (Diastat / Diastat AcuDial rectal gel)
• Morphine (Arymo ER, Embeda, Kadian, Morphabond ER, MS Contin, Avinza)
• Hydrocodone (Anexsia, Hysingla ER, Lortab, Norco, Reprexain, Vicodin, Vicoprofen, Zohydro ER)
• Oxycodone (Combunox, Oxaydo/Oxecta, OxyContin, Percocet, Percodan, Roxicet, Roxicodone, Targiniq ER, Xartemis XR, Xtampza ER, Roxybond)
• Methadone (Dolophine, Methadose)
• Methylphenidate (Daytrana transdermal patch system)
• Oxymorphone (Opana, Opana ER)
• Hydromorphone (Dilaudid, Exalgo)
• Meperidine (Demerol)
• Sodium Oxybate (Xyrem oral solution)
• Tapentadol (Nucynta, Nucynta ER)
• Fentanyl (Abstral, Actiq, Duragesic, Fentora, Onsolis)

When possible, it is always best to dispose of your medication at an official take back site, such as a pharmacy or police department. However, because the above medications can be dangerous and even fatal if misused, the FDA has approved them for quick disposal by flushing when needed.

<h4> Trash Disposal </h4>

When a take back program is not available and the medication is not on the FDA’s approved flush list, medications can usually be safely disposed of in the trash. Prescription drugs and over the counter medications in the form of pills, drops, creams, liquids, and patches can all be disposed of safely when the right precautions are taken.

Follow these steps to safely dispose of your medication at home:

1. Take the medication out of its original container and combine them with an undesirable substance, like used coffee grounds, cat litter, or dirt. Combining medications with undesirable substances helps to make the drugs less appealing to animals and children and it makes the medication harder to recognize by people who might sort through the trash to find drugs for their use.
2. Be sure to place the medication in a sealed container, such as a resealable bag, in order to prevent the contents from seeping out.
3. Throw the container in the garbage.
4. Black out all identifying information on your prescription packaging in order to protect your privacy and identity. Scratch out all your personal information on the empty medicine packaging to protect your identity and privacy. Throw the packaging away.
   

Other Options for Medication Disposal

If you prefer to dispose of medications away from your home or don’t feel like you can safely dispose of medications on your own, you may be able to participate in a drug take back program.

Offered by police departments and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), take back programs accept prescription and illegal drugs with no questions asked. To find out if your community offers a similar program, check with your local law enforcement officials.

Some pharmacies also serve as repositories for unused medications. Check with your local pharmacy to find out if they offer an on-site drop box, mail back program, or similar options to help you dispose of your medication safely.

Summary

Safe medication disposal is everyone’s responsibility. Failure to safely dispose of expired, unwanted, or unused medication presents numerous risks for children, pets, and the community in general.

While it is possible to dispose of most medications safely at home, only certain medications can be flushed down the sink or toilet, while others should be disposed of in the trash.

If you are unsure of how to properly dispose of your medication in a safe manner, contact your local law enforcement office regarding drug take back programs.