How to Dispose of Medication Safely
Nearly 70% of American adults take prescription medication every day. With America’s population being over 300 million people, that adds up to a lot of pills (and a lot of pill bottles). However, not all of those pills are used and, in those cases, it’s important to know how to dispose of that unused or expired medication safely.
The importance of properly disposing unused or expired medications is centered around protecting your community. This includes those around you, particularly children, infants, and animals. They might accidentally ingest the medication if it’s not disposed of properly. Your community’s soil and water should be protected as well. When disposed of improperly, medications can leak into our soil and water, contaminating the food we eat and the water we drink every day.
To avoid contaminating your community, proper disposal of medications is necessary. In this blog, we’ll dive deeper into the best methods for safe, compliant medication disposal.
How to Dispose of Medication Safely
The different types of medical waste each have an ideal method of disposal. When it comes to medications, it’s important to distinguish between those and hazardous pharmaceutical waste. Everyday medications are considered non-hazardous. Hazardous pharmaceutical waste, however, includes chemicals that are toxic, flammable, reactive, corrosive, or otherwise dangerous to people or the environment. Disposing of the latter has more strict requirements.
For everyday medication disposal, there are a number of different solutions. While some are more convenient, others are safer and more compliant.
Drop-off Services
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and most state services, the recommended method of disposal for unused or expired medication is dropping it off at a site specifically designed for it. In the past decade, many pharmacies, healthcare organizations, and even local police departments have installed medication collection services. This helps protect the environment and the public, and helps keep controlled substances out of the hands of people who would misuse them.
Because these organizations are set up to take leftover medications, their disposal methods are regulated by HIPAA and comply with necessary state and federal disposal requirements. Before you drop-off your medication, make sure you remove any labels from the bottle that have protected health information (PHI). This can go a long way toward protecting your privacy.
Mail Back Services
If drop-off services aren’t right for your needs, mail back services are another option for medication disposal. You can often look to the same organizations who have drop-off services, as they’ll typically have mail back service as well.
However, when using mail back services, it’s important to confirm the legitimacy of the program. A reputable, compliant mail back program will provide packaging with pre-paid postage, a unique identification number, and will be pre-addressed to a DEA-authorized medication disposal site.
Trash Disposal
If drop-off or mail back services aren’t feasible for you, there are ways to make trash disposal safe. Some providers offer special packets which contain a substance that, when mixed with medications, makes substances safe for disposal.
You can also place your medication in a container with something like cat litter, coffee grounds, or another substance that would make the medication unappealing. It’s important to fully seal the mixture, remove any labels from your medication bottle, and toss it into the trash. While this disposal method isn’t ideal, it’s better than simply throwing them away as is.
Sewering
Sewering refers to flushing medications down a drain or toilet. While this is an alternative option, it should only be done for medications that are on the FDA’s flush list. Many medications will also indicate on their label if they’re approved for flushing down the toilet or sink. Make sure to verify the safety of using this method to ensure you’re not impacting your community or the environment.
Safe Medication Disposal With Medical Waste Pros
When you’ve got medications that are leftover or expired, or pill bottles you want recycled, Medical Waste Pros can help. Our nationwide network of trusted providers ensure disposal is handled safely and in compliance with necessary requirements and regulations. From controlled substances and empty pill bottles to chemotherapy, biohazardous, and sharps waste, we can simplify disposal for businesses and individuals alike.
Give us a call at (888) 755-6370, or fill out the form on the page, and we’ll find you a service or drop-off location that works for you in just minutes.
