Medicine helps us when we’re sick or in pain. However, what should you do with medication once you’re fit and healthy? If you’re like most people, you probably keep unused meds in the medicine cabinet because you never know.
Fair enough, but the unused medicine you hold on to could end up in the wrong hands. The risk could double when the medication in question expires. Expired drugs are considered pharmaceutical waste and should be treated as such.
Read on as we look into how to properly get rid of unused medication. Let’s jump straight into it.
Why Is Proper Medication Disposal Crucial?
Proper disposal of medicine might be an afterthought, but doing so is important for reasons like:
Environmental Protection
Flushing certain medication down the toilet or dumping it on the ground could lead to harmful chemicals entering the water supply or polluting the soil. This could affect aquatic life and also compromise the soil quality.
Avoid Accidental Poisoning
Kids and pets ingest anything that comes their way, including unused and expired medicine. Approximately 60,000 children visit the ER for ingesting medicine they shouldn’t have. Proper medication disposal ensures your little ones and fur babies can’t get their hands on your leftover drugs. Pets and kids aside, there’s also the chance that you could take the mix-up dosages and accidentally take the wrong medicine, poisoning yourself in the process.
When Should You Get Rid of Medicine
There’s always the question of when the right time to get rid of medicine is. As a rule of thumb, do away with medication when:
- Your doctor gives you the go-ahead to do so after a thorough medical evaluation.
- Your healthcare provider changes your prescription before you finish your initial medication.
- The medicine is past its expiration date.
- You no longer need the OTC medication you have.
How to Properly Dispose of Unwanted Medication
There’s no single way to discard medicine you no longer use correctly. However, some of the best ways to do so include:
Drug Take Back Programs
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) creates and oversees Drug Take Back programs in various communities nationwide. This provides a convenient, safe, and environmentally safe way to discard unused drugs.
The DEA will assign collector sites in different jurisdictions where you can take your expired and unwanted medication. The only downside is that these programs don’t accept syringes, inhalers, and medicine used in chemotherapy.
Household Disposal
Not everyone has the time to take unwanted meds to a Drug Take Back collection site. The good news is you can always dispose of them safely at home. The easiest way is to flush them down the toilet, but only if the medicine appears on the FDA’s Flush List. This list contains medicine that the FDA recommends disposal of through flushing. So, what about the medicine you can’t flush?
Well, the best way to discard “unflushable” medicines is to toss them in the trash with the rest of your household garbage. However, the trick is removing the medicine from its container and mixing it with other trach like cat litter, coffee grounds, etc. That way, you can conceal the medicine from kids and pets. Placing the waste in a resealable plastic storage bag is also a good idea to prevent it from spilling or leaching into the ground.
Inhaler Disposal
Take extra care when getting rid of inhalers since they contain propellants and could explode when exposed to intense heat or pressure. These inhalers also contain hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCS, which are detrimental to the environment and can contribute to global warming.
Consider returning your unused inhalers to the pharmacy from which you bought them. The pharmacies will dispose of them properly via recycling programs and other specialized initiatives.
The same goes for syringes and razors. You’ll find syringe disposal bins in pharmacies and healthcare centers. If you don’t have time to get to these places, place them in a heavy-duty plastic or glass bottle and throw them in the trash.
Safe Medicine Disposal Is Your Responsibility
After the medicine you take has outlived its purpose, don’t get rid of it carelessly. Remember, it’s your responsibility to get rid of medicine in a safe and effective way. In doing so, you’re not only keeping you and your family safe but playing your part in protecting the ecosystem. So, the next time you want to flush some OTC pills down the drain, check whether they’re on the FDA’s flush list. If not, bring them to your nearest Drug Take Back collection site. If you’re still unsure of how to dispose of certain medications, you can always contact your healthcare provider, and they’ll point you in the right direction.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.