Some places have hazardous waste collection centers, or even collection days for old pills. I too have old pills to get rid of. Maybe I can mix them with rat poison and get the rodents stoned just before they die.
You definitely don’t want to flush them, that contaminates the water supply. You can possibly take them to a pharmacy, I know that some will dispose of them for you, I would call ahead before doing that. Hazardous waste is another option, again I would call first to make sure they take them. Throwing them away would be the last option.
I’m a little perplexed. I’ve always flushed them down the toilet. Why would flushing pills down the toilet in water that goes to the sewerage plant be contaminating our water?
Take them to a pharmacy. They will dispose of them properly.
If that doesn’t work, seal them up as tight as you can, seal THAT bag, and chuck it in the garbage. Don’t flush them because they can dissolve in the water and trace elements can make it back to the drinking water.
Stuff in landfills will eventually leach through the clay liner and into the water supply. Throwing them away is not any better than flushing them. The best option is when they are collected, and burned in an incinerator where the heat is used to make electrical power. The ash is neutralized and is then disposed of in a way that is safe.
@richardhenry I don’t care if some loser at a land fill finds my old tablets. I do care if they leach into the water table and end up in my drinking water.