What to do with old/expired pills?

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.

That’s frightening that they fall into the same category as “hazardous waste.” Ah!

Can you put them in the garbage?

Put them in with your regular rubbish. Why would you possibly flush them?

Sell them? .... lol…. no just kidding… you’d probably be fine just tossing them in the garbage or down the toilet.

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 throw mine in the trash with a bunch of dirty diapers, so hopefully no one actually digs them up and takes them lol.

I usually keep pills, even if expired..depending on the pill, because some have a longer shelf life than the expiration date.

Do what the companies that make the drugs do….. dump them into waterways that often supply drinking water to people.

Take them to a pharmacy. Most meds actually tell you this on the info leaflet. (or at least they used to)

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?

@janbb
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Drugging+our+water:+we+flush+it,+then+we+drink+it.+(Your+Health)-a096195506

I just throw them in the garbage. Nobody is going to look through my garbage bags, I’m not famous.

@chris6137 Thanks for the info!

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.

I toss them into the bag containing dirty kitty litter.

Thanks for the ideas everyone!

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.

Why do you care if someone discovers some expired drug in the landfill and takes it? Why is that a concern?

@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.

I’ll check with the pharmacy.

Thanks everyone.