BuzzRx Shares 4 Environmentally Responsible Ways to Dispose of Unused Medication

Many people depend on prescription medication to address an illness or an ongoing medical condition; however, once their medication expires or is no longer needed, many do not dispose of it properly. As the EPA notes, when pharmaceuticals enter the environment after getting flushed, they can have a devastating impact on fish and other wildlife, affecting animal behaviors and the reproduction and mortality rates across ecosystems.

In addition, these harmful environmental outcomes can create problems for human health due to lingering chemical content released into the drinking water supply.

As Matthew Herfield, co-founder and CEO of BuzzRx, a prescription savings company, explains, there are several ways that patients can dispose of unused medication without harming the environment.

“Drug take-back programs should always be your top option for disposing of unused medications,” Herfield advises. “The U.S. DEA offers several permanent sites where you can securely drop off your unused medications. These medications are typically incinerated to ensure they don’t leech into the local environment. Some sites also offer mail-in programs if you can’t reach the drop-off location.”

You can use the DEA’s online search tool to find year-round drop-off locations up to 50 miles from your home. These locations include pharmacies, health centers, and grocers like Walmart and Safeway.

Typically, these locations include secure disposal boxes where you can deposit your unused medication, with some locations also accepting sharps such as needles, auto-injectors and syringes. These locations accept prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as inhalers.

In addition to its permanent drug take-back locations, the DEA runs the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day each April and October. While this event is primarily focused on preventing medication misuse and addiction, these disposal services also represent an opportunity to get rid of unused medication in an environmentally responsible way.

Over 4,000 law enforcement departments participate in this bi-annual event, though participation can vary significantly between states. For example, over 310 agencies in Ohio participated in the October 2024 event, but there were no participating agencies in North Dakota. Be sure to check availability in your area through the Take Back Day’s Collection Site Locator.

While government take-back programs and community collection days are considered the best way to dispose of prescription drugs, they aren’t available to everyone. This is especially true of individuals living in rural communities.

Flushing unused prescription medications down the drain is generally not recommended. However, the FDA advises that certain medications may be flushed when take-back programs are not readily available. The organization’s research into the environmental impact of the drugs on its “flush list” has determined that they have a negligible environmental impact — though some additional data is still needed.

Many of the medications on the flush list contain opioids, and the FDA has determined that there’s a greater risk of harm through misuse or overdosing, especially if children, adults or pets in the home accidentally or intentionally ingest, touch, or abuse these medicines.

“The labeling on these drugs is very specific about whether flushing is an acceptable disposal option. You should only ever consider flushing drugs that say this is an option on their label. However, returning them to a take-back location is still going to be the preferred option,” Herfield explains.

Finally, it is possible to dispose of unused medications with your household trash as long as you follow key trash disposal guidelines. “Guidelines for disposing of unused prescriptions with your trash are designed to keep the drugs from being misused while limiting their potential environmental impact,” Herfield says.

“The first step is to remove the medication from its original container and mix it with something undesirable like coffee grounds. This helps keep people or animals from trying to get into it. Next, you should put the mixture in a sealed bag or container. Proper sealing is essential to keep the pills from spilling out, where they could be more likely to get into the local environment. At this point, the unused medication can be safely disposed of with the rest of your household waste.”

Though not as ideal from an environmental standpoint, this approach helps limit the risk of unused medication causing health or environmental harm. The medication should be disposed of with standard waste, not recyclables. However, depending on its packaging, the original prescription medication container may be recyclable.

Responsibly disposing of unused medication generally requires a few more steps than flushing it down the toilet or tossing it in the trash.

By using drug take-back programs and drop-off boxes, or following the FDA’s flush list and trash disposal guidelines, you can ensure that your medications are disposed of in a manner that is safe for others and the environment.