Updated June 08, 2015.

When we think of medical waste, we typically think about old syringes, bloody gauze, or items contaminated with bodily secretions. Few people realize that there is another type of medical waste right in our own medicine cabinets. And this type of medical waste poses a health hazard to all that live in the home. I'm talking about the prescription medication in our homes; specifically expired and unused prescription medication.

Like other types of medical waste there are special ways to dispose of old prescriptions and unused medication. Follow these simple guidelines to protect you, your family, your pets and the environment.

The Risks Posed by Old and Expired Medications

I remember as a young child my parents would flush anything they didn't want us kids to get our hands on; dead goldfish, spoiled food, stale cereal, and most assuredly my parents old and unused medications. It seemed their theory was that out of site out of mind and that our public sewer system could handle just about anything without consequence. In fact I remember our neighbors dumping old motor oil down the sewer in front of their house. What could it hurt; the sewer after all, was for all those things we didn't want or need. Today we know that is not true at all. In fact, flushing our old and unused medications down the toilet can be very harmful to our environment and even our water supply. We would not just throw other types of medical waste in the trash; and because old medications are a type of medical waste we shouldn't throw them in the trash or down the toilet either.
Since we can't flush them down the toilet or drain another option would be just dumping them into the nearest garbage.

That poses a risk too. Pets often scavenge through garbage, looking for scraps to eat. Toddlers are curious creatures as well. It is not unusual for little children to pick things from the garbage; things they find curious or potentially tasty. Obviously, young children accidentally ingesting old prescription medication could have catastrophic results. And because of the risks, just tossing old medicines in the trash is not an option either.

What Should We Do With Our Old Prescription Medications?

We know that like all types of medical waste, old and expired prescription medications pose a threat to our homes, our pets, our children, and our environment. Therefore we need to follow a few simple steps in order to dispose of our old and unused medications safely and responsibly.
Pills and Solid Medication

1. First remove, black out, or obscure your name, address, etc. from the medication container.
2. Keep the medications in their original containers to make identification easier in the event they are accidentally ingested.
3. Add water to the bottle to dissolve the pills or capsules.
4. Seal the container completely with furnace duct tape.
5. Place the sealed container in an opaque plastic container such as a detergent bottle or margarine container.
6. Seal that container with duct tape and place in the trash.

Liquid Medication

1. First remove, black out, or obscure your name, address, etc. from the medication container.
2. Keep the medications in their original containers to make identification easier in the event they are accidentally ingested.
3. Add kitty litter, sawdust, or coffee grounds to the liquid medication to make them less palatable to anyone who may find them.
4. Seal the container completely with furnace duct tape.
5. Place the sealed container in an opaque plastic container such as a detergent bottle or margarine container.
6. Seal that container with duct tape and place in the trash.

Other Options

In addition to disposing of them yourself, there are other options to get old medications out of your house. Some pharmacies will take back old medications and will dispose of them for you. Also, there are groups that collect old and unused medications for use in countries where medications are too expensive or hard to come by.

To Summarize

To simply summarize the above content. There are three simple rules to follow:

1. Do not give your old and unused medications to anyone else except those people who help dispose of them or redistribute them to countries who need them.
2. Do not flush any medication down the drain or toilet.
3. Do not discard old medications in the trash unless sealed, altered, and disguised.

<sub>Sources

Florida Department of Environmental Protection; "Homeowners Guide to Disposal of Unwanted Medications"; 2009.

Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance; "Pharmaceutical Waste: Disposing of Unwanted Medications"; 2009.</sub>