How to Dispose of Expired Medications
How households should dispose of expired, unwanted, or unused prescription and over-the-counter medicines safely.
What counts as expired medications
This guide covers household and consumer disposal of expired, unwanted, or unused medicines: prescription and over-the-counter drugs that an individual or family has at home, including small quantities of controlled substances such as leftover opioid pain relievers. The federal guidance here comes from the FDA, DEA, and EPA and is written for ultimate users (patients) and their households. It does not cover regulated healthcare pharmaceutical waste. Medicines generated by hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, long-term care facilities, and other businesses are a separate stream governed by EPA hazardous-waste pharmaceutical rules (40 CFR part 266 subpart P) and DEA registrant requirements, and must be handled by those facilities rather than thrown in the trash or flushed. If you operate a healthcare facility, see the regulated pharmaceutical-waste guidance instead of this consumer page.
Step by step: containment, segregation, transport
- Use a drug take-back program first.
The FDA's first recommendation is to drop off expired, unwanted, or unused medicines at a drug take-back location or use a prepaid drug mail-back envelope. Authorized take-back locations may be retail, hospital, or clinic pharmacies and law enforcement facilities. The DEA runs National Prescription Drug Take Back Day twice a year and authorizes thousands of year-round collectors with collection receptacles, so the public can dispose of drugs on most days of the year.
- Send controlled substances to a DEA take-back or authorized collector.
Controlled substances such as leftover opioids should go to a DEA take-back event or a DEA authorized collector or collection receptacle. Under the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 and its regulations at 21 CFR part 1317, ultimate users (patients) may deliver pharmaceutical controlled substances to authorized collectors for disposal.
- Check the FDA flush list before flushing anything.
Only a small set of medicines belong on the FDA flush list, and the FDA says to flush them only if a take-back option is not readily available. These are medicines sought for misuse or abuse that can cause death from one dose if taken inappropriately, such as the fentanyl patch (a used patch still contains a lot of medicine, which is why it comes with instructions to flush). Do not flush medicines that are not on the flush list.
- Dispose of non-flush-list medicine in the household trash.
If no take-back option is available and the medicine is not on the flush list, the FDA says to mix the medicine (liquid or pills; do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds, then place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag and throw it in your household trash. The unappealing substance makes it less likely that children or pets will consume it.
- Remove personal information from the label.
Before discarding empty medicine packaging or bottles, scratch out the personal information on the prescription label to protect your privacy and help prevent identity theft.
Container, color code, and labeling
Federal guidance follows a clear order. A drug take-back program is the preferred first choice for nearly all expired or unused medicines: a DEA take-back event, a DEA authorized collector or collection receptacle (operated under 21 CFR part 1317 and the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010), or a prepaid mail-back envelope. Controlled substances such as leftover opioids should always go to a take-back or authorized collector. The FDA flush list is a narrow exception for a small group of high-misuse, potentially fatal medicines (mostly opioids like fentanyl patches) that may be flushed only when a take-back option is not readily available, because the FDA judges the risk of accidental exposure to outweigh the environmental risk of flushing those specific drugs. For everything not on the flush list, use the household-trash method: mix the medicine with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds, seal the mixture in a container such as a plastic bag, throw it in the trash, and scratch out the personal information on the prescription label. The EPA strongly discourages flushing most pharmaceuticals to protect water, since treatment plants are generally not equipped to remove medicines and septic systems can leach them into ground water.
Frequently asked questions
Can I flush old medicines down the toilet?
Usually no. The FDA and EPA say to use a take-back program first. Only medicines on the FDA flush list (a small group of high-misuse drugs such as fentanyl patches that can cause death from one dose) should be flushed, and only when a take-back option is not readily available. The EPA strongly discourages flushing all other pharmaceuticals because wastewater plants generally cannot remove them and septic systems can leach them into ground water.
How do I throw expired pills in the trash safely?
For medicines not on the FDA flush list, mix them (do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds, place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag, and throw it in your household trash. Then scratch out the personal information on the prescription label before discarding the empty bottle.
Where can I take back unused prescriptions?
You can use a drug take-back location, which may be a retail, hospital, or clinic pharmacy or a law enforcement facility, or a prepaid mail-back envelope. The DEA holds National Prescription Drug Take Back Day twice a year and has thousands of year-round authorized collectors, so you can find a disposal location on most days of the year.
What should I do with leftover opioids or other controlled substances?
Take leftover opioids and other controlled substances to a DEA take-back event or a DEA authorized collector or collection receptacle. Patients are allowed to deliver controlled substances to authorized collectors for disposal under DEA regulations at 21 CFR part 1317. If a take-back option is not readily available and the opioid is on the FDA flush list (such as a fentanyl patch), the FDA says it may be flushed.