Unused or expired medication needs to be disposed of safely so that individuals can keep their prescriptions up to date and avoid contaminating the local water supply. Throwing prescription medication into the trash, flushing it down the toilet, or pouring it down the sink is unhealthy and harmful. At AccessRX Pharmacy, our team can make medication disposal quick and easy.
Why Medication Disposal Is Important
Medicine like prescription medications is the most common poison exposure category in the US. When not properly stored, medications can go bad and cause complications if used. Similarly, when not properly disposed of, individuals can be exposed to a substance that can sicken them or even risk death. Children can inadvertently discover prescription medications if they are just thrown into the trash and potentially harm themselves. In the same way, pouring medications down the drain can cause latent issues for individuals but, more importantly, contaminate local water systems.
The mixture of various medications into the local water supply like hormones, antibiotics, anti-depressants, tranquilizers, beta-blockers, and other chemicals can directly affect wildlife and the environment. However, it has also been shown to affect drinking water contributing to various health issues.
When medicine is flushed down the toilet or poured down the sink, it becomes a part of the water supply. Even though the water utility treats all water coming through it, it isn’t designed to filter out these kinds of medications. Also, these medicines can diffuse into groundwater if you use a septic system.
However, there is also a danger in simply throwing out old or expired medications. Because prescription opioids are so potent, they are highly addictive. Even when individuals use these medications properly, they can fall into the wrong hands. Throwing away your remaining prescription opioids means they could be found by someone else and abused. Also, keeping expired medication can lead to serious issues like theft or confused about what medications one should take.
Proper, safe medication disposal at a pharmacy like AccessRX eliminates these risks and is the best way to dispose of most unused or expired medicines.
Ways to Manage Expired or Unused Medication
While coming into a pharmacy like AccessRX is the easiest and most secure way to get rid of expired or unused medicine, there are some things individuals can do to dispose of prescriptions safely. The FDA has a list of medications that can be safely disposed of at home. Part of this process involves:
- Mix: Don’t crush pills or tablets, but mixing them with other trash like dirt, cat litter, or coffee grounds.
- Place: Take this mixture and place it in a sealed container or sturdy plastic bag.
- Throw: Once mixed and placed, this can be thrown into the trash. This makes searching for the medications unpalatable, decreasing the likelihood of them falling into the wrong hands. At the same time, this prevents the medication from leaking out.
- Black Out: If you have prescription bottles, make sure to scratch or black out any personal information on the prescription label.
To learn more details, call AccessRX at 877.646.9008, and our pharmacists can guide you through the process. However, our team is skilled in properly disposing of these medications.
Come to AccessRX Pharmacy for Safe Medication Disposal
Among our comprehensive pharmacy services, customers can come to AccessRX for safe medication disposal. If you live in the Toledo, Ohio, area, we can not only help you with the disposal of your prescriptions but get the medication you do need to meet all your healthcare needs. We offer several other specialty services as well, such as:
Reach out to us today at 877.646.9008 to learn more.