For caregivers and patients, proper medication disposal is very important for everyone’s safety and for our earth’s environment. You may have heard about how medication that is not disposed of properly can be accidentally taken by someone else. It also  has the potential of contaminating the environment and our water supply. The following are guidelines that we compiled for you from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Pharmacies and other entities that regulate medication disposal.

Guidelines for properly disposing medication

• Follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication.
• Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information specifically instructs you to do so.

If no instructions are given, you may throw the drugs in the household trash, but first:

• Take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash.
• Put them in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.
• On medication bottles, remove the label or any identifying label from all containers before you throw them out.
• Call your Pharmacist or Pharmacy and get information on the best way to dispose of a particular drug or medication, of if they know of a community drug take-back program in your area. The State of California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery has an online Sharps and Medication Disposal Directory to help you locate disposal facility in your area.

Following these medication disposal tips can help save lives and the environment.