How do I safely dispose of unused medication?

Janell Sluga Medicare & Individual Health Insurance Account Executive View Bio

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Question:

I saw in the paper that April 26^th was a Prescription Take Back Day, but I didn’t get out on Saturday. What do I do with these old medications now?

Answer:

Thank you for thinking about how to dispose of your unused medications in a safe manner. I often speak about medications, the costs and how to obtain them, but this is the other end of the medication lifecycle. Do NOT flush your unused medications down the toilet! Those medications/chemicals are toxic to our water table and the surrounding environment.

Medications are no longer needed for many reasons: you no longer need them, or they expired, or a loved one does not need them because they passed away or moved into a nursing home (the pharmacy in nursing homes can’t accept the medications we have already purchased). Now what do we do with them?

There are a number of states across the country that allow you to donate your medication back into an appropriate agency and then it is given to someone who can’t afford their medication. New York State does not have such a system. There are a number of locations in the area that have unused medication receptacles that you can bring your medication to and drop off. I will recommend a couple of research tools. The first is Google Maps, where you can search “medication drop off near me.” This will show you locations that you can drop off those unused medications, usually pharmacies or other stores. You can also search near you using the Department of Health website and search “Medication Disposal near _____.”

Locally, police department locations and most pharmacies have drop-box services that allow you to drop off unused medications. These drop-box locations are completely anonymous, but you’ll have to remove the labels or place your medications in unmarked baggies in order to hide your personal information.

On April 26^th, there were a number of special locations set up for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. This prompted to think about those unused medications in your home. But your medications can be safely disposed of anytime using one of these other sources.

There may be another alternative: a non-profit founded at Stanford University by a Y Combinator Alumni, called SIRUM. SIRUM allows you to donate and repurpose your unused medications through a specific approved process. This process permits you to FedEx unused medication to SIRUM, who redistributes them to those in need. The medication cannot be a controlled substance, it cannot expire for at least 5 months, it must be in sealed packaging, and it cannot require refrigeration. There is a shipping charge of $10. Questions can be directed to 650-488-7434 or hello@sirum.org. Further information is available on the web at www.sirum.org. I think this is a great idea and hope that more medication can be “repurposed” in this fashion.

When trying a new medication, try to get a 7-day or 14-day supply first, to see if you have any adverse reaction to it (that is the purpose of free samples), then fill a 30-day supply, then switch to 90-day if you choose to continue to take it regularly. This slower purchasing of medication could save you money and prevent unused medication from being in your home.

I would ask you to think carefully before using automatic refills. This can produce many excess medications which end up in our system. Once filled and mailed, these medications cannot be returned. This is a significant waste of perfectly good medications and dollars. Insurance companies and YOU are paying for this unused medication.

We must also consider that we never know what is going to happen to any of us. If we are getting 30-day supply instead of a 90-day supply, or calling to order our medication when the bottle is looking empty, we could be saving ourselves and our healthcare system significant dollars.

I understand that a 90-day supply saves us money, but if the medication goes unused, you paid for medications you didn’t need.

Medication usage for all of us involves a plan for obtaining it, organizing it, taking it, and possibly dispensing of it.