What is the proper way to dispose of prescription drugs?
As some of you know, I have just had my wisdom teeth removed and because of this, I received a prescription for Percoset. I am not going to use all of it there are twenty pills and I’m averaging 1½ a day so I’m wondering if there is a safe, legal way to dispose of the rest.
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If you don’t get a clear answer here, call your pharmacist/chemist and ask them.
There is a list of methods for proper disposal of prescription drugs on the Food and Drug Adminstration’s website. I personally like the idea of community drug take-back programs (which you can read about on the link provided.) I hope that helps :)
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Save the unused tablets. You never know when you gonna really need pain relief.
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@No, don’t flush! Many municipal water systems have found detectable levels of prescription drugs in their water systems from people flushing. Not the proper disposal method.
I flush pills and pour liquid down the sink.
Jeez folks, as a personal favor to the rest of us, please, stop flushing this shit down the toilet or down the sink.
Take it to any pharmacy for proper disposal. Lilly is absolutely right. Don’t flush it down the toilet.
Tke them to your dr or your pharmacist
I’d save then until the expiry date. Pain meds can be useful in an emergency. Absolutely don’t flush. Even the microbe balance in your septic system can be adversely affected by this. Don’t compost either. What I do with all expired meds is dump them in a paper sack and incinerate them in the boiler furnace. Least dangerous solution I can come up with.
In California, my pharmacist told me to take them to the police department. The pharmacist couldn’t do anything with them but the PD has a safe disposal process that keeps it out of the water supply.
Also, make sure to destroy the label on the bottles. If the prescription has refills left to fulfill, someone who spies it in your trash could fish out the bottle, fill the script, and abuse the drugs even if you disposed of the drugs conscientiously.
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