Do You Know How To Properly Dispose Unused Medications?

Properly disposing unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs helps protect children, pets and the environment. The University of Southern Nevada College of Pharmacy offers the following information:

Don't:

• Flush your medication/drugs - Flushing drugs down the toilet has been shown to pollute water supplies.
• Pour your medication/drugs down the drain - Even small amounts of drugs may affect fish and wildlife.
• Give unused medications/drugs to family, friends or co-workers - Your medication/drugs were prescribed specifically for you by a doctor and could be harmful to others based on their medical conditions as well as potential drug interactions.

Steps for Disposing Drugs:

• Collect all medications/drugs that are expired or no longer being used.
• Remove all labels containing personal information from empty medication containers. Leave all warning labels.
  
• Place all solid medication (pills, capsules, etc.) into a sealable plastic bag.
• Gently crush the medication with a heavy object.
• Carefully open sealed plastic bag and pour contents back into the medication container, if available, and add an absorbent product, such as kitty litter, saw dust or coffee grounds.
• Add liquid medications.
• Seal shut the container and/or tape the plastic bag shut and discreetly discard in the trash.

If you have questions regarding your medications/drugs, talk to your pharmacist.