Unaccepted Items

To assure program safety, these products are NOT accepted through the medicine return program. Recommended disposal practices are listed below.

For safe disposal of aerosol cans, contact your local household hazardous waste collection program, www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/mrw/mrw_contacts.html
Aerosol cans often use flammable compressed gases as propellants. For safe transportation and disposal, aerosol cans cannot be mixed with other medicine wastes. The Medicine Return Program does not accept aerosol cans, even if they contain medicine such as Tinactin antifungal spray, first aid spray, or sunburn relief spray.
Inhalers are not aerosol cans and are accepted because they are small, have non-flammable propellants, and the pressure is low.

For safe disposal of needles and syringes, ask your pharmacist or contact your local Health Department. www.doh.wa.gov/LHJMap/LHJMap.htm
Used needles, injectors, EpiPens, lancets or other objects capable of puncturing skin are infectious, capable of transmitting disease. These “biohazardous” or “biomedical” wastes have special regulations for safe transportation and disposal. Disposal containers for needles are not opened by workers because the risk of infection by “needle stick” is too great.
Most unwanted medicines are not infectious and have completely different regulations for safe transportation and disposal. To assure chemical safety, all our Medicine Return Program containers must be opened and inspected by workers. Keep needles out of the Medicine Return Program to keep our workers safe.

For safe disposal of mercury fever thermometers, contact your local household hazardous waste collection program www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/mrw/mrw_contacts.html
Old fever thermometers contain mercury, the silvery liquid inside the glass tube. Medicine Return Program waste is disposed through incineration. In an incinerator, mercury vaporizes and may escape into the environment through the smokestack. Preventing mercury pollution is critical because it is toxic to humans and animals. For more information about mercury, see http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/mercury/index.html.

For safe disposal of IV Bags, ask your pharmacist or medical clinic for assistance.
IV bags are not a strong, leak-proof container for dropping down the collection bin opening or transportation. During shipment with other Medicine Return Program waste or when it lands in the bucket, the bag could break, spilling liquid over other drugs in the bucket. Some IV bags also have a needle attached and need to be managed separately with infectious or biohazardous waste.

Contact your local Health Department for help disposing of bloody or infectious waste www.doh.wa.gov/LHJMap/LHJMap.htm.
Bloody or infectious waste (also called “biohazardous” or “biomedical” waste) may have the capacity to transmit disease. Generally, regulated biomedical waste must be treated by steam sterilization, incineration, or other approved methods. Medicine Return Program waste management processes are designed to safely handle chemical risks from medicines, not infectious wastes.

Most personal care products may be disposed into the regular garbage. If you have products in aerosol cans, hair color, hair spray, nail polish or nail polish remover, contact your local household hazardous waste program for disposal.
Personal care products are lotions, soap, shampoo, suntan lotion, deodorants, cosmetics and other non-medicated products you apply to your body. Compared to the cost of regular garbage disposal, safe disposal of unwanted medicine is expensive. Disposing of personal care products or other trash in the Medicine Return Program is simply too expensive. Some products, such as aerosol cans, hairspray, nail polish or nail polish remover often container flammable ingredients and should be disposed of separately.

At this time, controlled substances must be disposed to the regular garbage. Do not flush down the toilet or put down the sink! Dispose in the garbage in the original container placed in two sealed plastic bags. The first bag should be a "ziploc" type of bag. It is best to mix the medications with kitty litter or used coffee grounds so that the drug is not recognizable or available for abuse.
Controlled substances, such as narcotics, are drugs with a high potential for abuse. Examples of controlled substances are amphetamines, Valium, Ritalin, morphine, methadone and oxycodone. These are carefully regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration to assure security and prevent illegal diversion. Once a controlled substance has been prescribed to a patient, current regulations allow only the patient or law enforcement to legally have custody of the drug.
The Medicine Return Program is working with the DEA to develop a legal method of accepting controlled substances through this program

3% concentrations of hydrogen peroxide can be usually disposed of down the sink. Contact your local household hazardous waste collection program for safe disposal of hydrogen peroxide in greater concentrations than 3%. www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/mrw/mrw_contacts.html
Hydrogen peroxide actively releases oxygen by vigorously bubbling when it contacts other materials. This oxygen activity is what makes hydrogen peroxide an effective disinfectant. When in contact with chemicals like some medicines, the oxygen may react and generate heat or other chemical byproducts. Keeping hydrogen peroxide out of Medicine Returns helps assure program safety.

Empty containers may be disposed into the regular garbage or recycled if clean #1 or #2 plastic with lids removed. Keeping them out of the Medicine Returns program helps keep disposal costs down.

Under state and federal law, pharmaceutical waste from businesses may not be accepted with household wastes. For guidance about proper management of pharmaceutical waste, contact Washington’s Department of Ecology http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/pharmaceuticals/.