Taking your unwanted medicines to a medicine return program is the safest way to dispose of medicines.   However, if no medicine take-back locations are near you, follow these simple steps before disposing your medicines in the trash.   Disguising your medicines before disposing them in the garbage could prevent a child, teen or pet from getting the medicines and accidentally ingesting them. 

Disposing medicines if a medicine return is not available: 

For chemotherapy drugs, contact your prescribing medical office to see if they will accept the drug. For all other drugs, we recommend that you:

1. Keep the medication in its original container.
2. Modify the medications to discourage consumption by adding something unappealing, such as kitty litter or sawdust. Do not crush the pills.
3. Seal and conceal. Tape the container lid shut with tape, place in a sealable bag, and then place in a non-transparent container to ensure that the contents cannot be seen.
4. Discard the container into the garbage. Do not place in the recycling bin. Make sure your trash cannot be accessed by children, pets, or others who might be looking in the garbage for drugs.