Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know

Learn how to dispose of unused or expired drugs

Video: How to Safely Dispose of Unused or Expired Medicine

Drug disposal options to consider and instructions for getting rid of unused or expired medicines

Transcript

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Narrator: Unused medicines can spell many things. RISK, if they’re taken by someone they weren’t prescribed for. HARM, if accidentally taken by a child or pet. DANGER, or even death, if not used as directed. Unused or expired medicines may be hiding right in your home. In bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, purses, and anywhere you store medicines. So why put your family at risk? Safely dispose of unused or expired medicines before they can do harm. There are many ways to get rid of them. The best option is to find a drug take-back location. This could be a local pharmacy or a police station. These take-back locations may offer on-site medicine drop-off boxes, mail-back programs, or in-home disposal products. DEA’s web page can help you find a take-back location near you. Just enter your zip code. If you don’t have a drug take-back location near you, check the FDA’s Flush List to see if your medicine is on it. Medicines on the Flush List may be especially dangerous with just one dose if they’re taken by children, pets, or others in your home. Flushing certain types of medicines, such as opioids, helps keep everyone safe by making sure these powerful drugs are not accidentally or intentionally swallowed, touched, or misused. Remember, don’t flush any medicine unless it is on the Flush List. If you don’t have a drug take-back location nearby and your medicine is not on the Flush List, you can dispose of it in the trash. For medicines you dispose of in the trash, FDA recommends that you mix them with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds. Don’t crush pills. Then place the mixture in a sealed plastic bag before throwing it away. Scratch out personal information from the prescription label on the empty packaging. For complete details and instructions on safe medicine disposal, visit www.FDA.Gov/DrugDisposal.

How to Safely Dispose of Unused or Expired Medicine

The best way to dispose of most types* of unused or expired medicines (both prescription and over the counter) is to drop off the medicine at a drug take back site, location, or program immediately.

If you cannot get to a drug take back location promptly, or there is none near you, and your medicine is
- on the FDA flush list, your next best option is to immediately flush these potentially dangerous medicine down the toilet.
- not on the flush list, you should follow these instructions to discard the medicine in your trash at home.

*Check out the Medication Disposal Q&A for more information including how to dispose of needles and syringes.

This graphic visually depicts the methods available to consumers to dispose of their unused, unwanted or expired medications. The methods, in order of preference, include readily available drug take-bake programs, disposal in the household trash and, for a few potentially dangerous medications, disposal by flushing in the toilet.

Drug Disposal Options Infographic (PDF; 2.1MB)

Use our Safe Opioid Disposal - Remove the Risk Outreach Toolkit, which contains public service announcements (PSAs), social media posts and images, fact sheets, and more, for talking with others about safe opioid disposal