Medication Disposal
a. Medicine Take-Back Programs
Medicine take-back programs for disposal is the preferred way to remove expired, unwanted, or unused medicines from the home and reduce the chance that others may accidentally take the medicine.
The city or county government’s household trash and recycling service should be contacted to see if there is a medicine take-back program in the community and learn about any special rules regarding which medicines can be taken back.
c. Disposal in Household Trash
If no medicine take-back program is available in the area, the following steps will be used to dispose of most medicines in the household trash:
- Mix medicines (do NOT crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds;
- Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag; and
- Throw the container in your household trash.
- Before throwing out your empty pill bottle or other empty medicine packaging, remember to scratch out all information on the prescription label to make it unreadable.
d. Medicines Recommended for Disposal by Flushing
This list from FDA tells what expired, unwanted, or unused medicines you should flush down the sink or toilet to help prevent danger to people and pets in the home. Flushing these medicines will get rid of them right away and help keep the family and pets safe.
Medicines Recommended for Disposal by Flushing Listed by Active Ingredient and Medicine There is a small number of medicines that may be especially harmful and, in some cases, fatal with just one dose if they are used by someone other than the person for whom the medicine was prescribed. This list from FDA tells you what expired, unwanted, or unused medicines you should flush down the sink or toilet to help prevent danger to people and pets in the home.
| Medicine | Active Ingredient |
| Abstral, tablets (sublingual) | Fentanyl |
| Actiq, oral transmucosal lozenge * | Fentanyl Citrate |
| Avinza, capsules (extended release) | Morphine Sulfate |
| Daytrana, transdermal patch system | Methylphenidate |
| Demerol,tablets * | Meperidine Hydrochloride |
| Demerol, oral solution * | Meperidine Hydrochloride |
| Diastat/Diastat AcuDial, rectal gel | Diazepam |
| Dilaudid, tablets * | Hydromorphone Hydrochloride |
| Dilaudid, oral liquid * | Hydromorphone Hydrochloride |
| Dolophine Hydrochloride, tablets * | Methadone Hydrochloride |
| Duragesic, patch (extended release) * | Fentanyl |
| Embeda, capsules (exteded release) | Morphine Sulfate; Naltrexone Hydrochloride |
| Exalgo, tablets (extended release) | Hydromorphone Hydrochloride |
| nFentora, tablets (buccal) | Fentanyl Citrate |
| Kadian, capsules (extended release) | Morphine Sulfate |
| Methadone Hydrochloride, oral solution * | Methadone Hydrochloride |
| Methadose, tablets * | Methadone Hydrochloride |
| Morphine Sulfate, tablets (immediate release) * | Morphine Sulfate |
| Morphine Sulfate, oral solution * | Morphine Sulfate |
| MS Contin, tablets (extended release) * | Morphine Slfat |
| Nucynta ER, tablets (extended release) | uTapentadol |
| Onsolis, soluble film (buccal) | eFentanyl Citrate |
| Opana, tablets (immediate release) | Oxymorphone Hydrochloride |
| Opana ER, tablets (extended release) | Oxymorphone Hydrochloride |
| Oxecta, tablets (immediate release) | Oxycodone Hydrochloride |
| Oxycodone Hydrochloride, capsules | Oxycodone Hydrochloride |
| Oxycodone Hydrochloride, oral solution | Oxycodone Hydrochloride |
| Oxycontin, tablets (extended release) * | Oxycodone Hydrochloride |
| Percocet, tablets * | Acetaminophen; Oxycodone Hydrochloride |
| Percodan, tablets * | Aspirin; Oxycodone Hydrochloride |
| Xyrem, oral solution | Sodium Oxybate |
| Active Ingredient | Medicine |
| Acetaminophen; Oxycodone Hydrochloride | Percocet, tablets * |
| Aspirin; Oxycodone Hydrochloride | Percodan, tablets * |
| Diazepam | Diastat/Diastat AcuDial, rectal gel |
| Fentanyl | Abstral, tablets (sublingual) |
| Duragesic, patch (extended release) * | |
| Fentanyl Citrate | Actiq, oral transmucosal lozenge * |
| Fentora, tablets (buccal) | |
| Onsolis, soluble film (buccal) | |
| Hydromorphone Hydrochloride | Dilaudid, tablets * |
| Dilaudid, oral liquid * | |
| Exalgo, tablets (extended release) | |
| Meperidine Hydrochloride | Demerol,tablets * |
| Demerol, oral solution * | |
| Methadone Hydrochloride | Dolophine Hydrochloride, tablets * |
| Methadone Hydrochloride, oral solution * | |
| Methadose, tablets * | |
| Methylphenidate | Daytrana, transdermal patch system |
| Morphine Sulfate | Avinza, capsules (extended release) |
| Kadian, capsules (extended release) | |
| Morphine Sulfate, tablets (immediate release) * | |
| Morphine Sulfate, oral solution * | |
| MS Contin, tablets (extended releas)* | |
| Morphine Sulfate; Naltrexone Hydrochloride | Embeda, capsules (extended release) |
| Oxycodone Hydrochloride | eOxecta, tablets (immediate release) |
| Oxycodone Hydrochloride, capsules | |
| Oxycodone Hydrochloride, oral solution | |
| Oxycontin, tablets (extended release) * | |
| Oxymorphone Hydrochloride | Opana, tablets (immediate release) |
| Opana ER, tablets (extended release) | |
| Sodium Oxybate | Xyrem, oral solution |
| Tapentadol | Nucynta ER, tablets (extended release) |
e. disposal of syringes and materials contaminated with bodily fluids
Syringes and materials contaminated with bodily fluids should be discarded in a sharps container.
The sharps container could be disposed of in the following ways:
Drop Box or Supervised Collection Sites
Sharps users can take their own sharps containers filled with used needles to appropriate collections sites:
Doctors’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies, health departments, or fire stations. Services are free or have a nominal fee.
Mail-back Programs
Sharps users place their used sharps in special containers and return the container by mail to a collection site for proper disposal. This service usually requires a fee. Fees vary, depending on the size of the container. Check with your health care provider, pharmacist, yellow pages, or search the Internet using keywords “sharps mail back.”
Syringe Exchange Programs (SEP)
Sharps users can safely exchange used needles for new needles. Contact the North American Syringe Exchange Network at 253-272-4857 or online at
<www.nasen.org>.
At-home Needle Destruction Devices
Several manufacturers offer products that allow you to destroy used needles at home. These devices sever, burn, or melt the needle, rendering it safe for disposal. Search the internet using keywords “sharps disposal devices.” The prices of these devices vary according to product type and manufacturer.
For More Information:
Contact the Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal at 1-800-643-1643 Ask about the availability of safe disposal programs in your area