Don’t Flush Old Medication! Recycle Them with National Take-Back Day

Reader Contribution by Susan Melgren and Web Editor
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Unused and expired medication can be problematic. Flushing old pills down the drain isn’t an option–the medication will eventually end up in our waterways where it can harm fish and other marine wildlife–and throwing them away leaves your old pills available to pets, neighborhood wildlife and anyone rifling through your trash. Leaving unused medication sitting on the shelf also creates problems, as it gives kids, pets and even adult family members the opportunity to accidentally or intentionally swallow those pills.

Dispose of expired and unused medication this Saturday at National Take-Back Day. Photo By D. Sharon Pruitt/Courtesy Flickr.

Save yourself the headache of figuring out how to properly (and safely) dispose of old medication by participating in National Take-Back Day this Saturday. Coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, National Take-Back Day is a one-day, nation-wide event where Americans can safely (and anonymously) clear out all unused, unwanted and expired medications from their homes. Although the event is aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse, it provides environmentally conscious people an opportunity to dispose of old pills, guilt-free.

More than 1,700 sites across the nation are participating in the event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, September 25. Only solid medications such as tablets, capsules and pills will be accepted. Visit the DEA’s website and enter your zip code or city and state to find a collection site near you.

  • Published on Sep 23, 2010
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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