Turning in your unused drugs to the police today?

chic

chic

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Seriously, where I live police have asked people with unused or unusable prescription medication, not to throw the bottles and pills away, but to bring them to city hall where the police will collect them.

This sounds like a waste of time and money to me. If you have prescription meds you'll never use, why can't you just flush them them down the toilet and remove your name sticker from the bottle before trowing it away? Why do the police need to get involved with this? I did see the police out collecting and a few people responded but it wasn't what I'd call an overwhelming success.

What do you think? Would you give your unused meds to the police instead of flushing them away??
 

Don't flush them down the toilet. too many doing that, ends up in groundwater or the ocean eventually.

I just put a little water in the pill bottle, let the pills dissolve, then toss in trash- rendered unusable.

Landfills have double vinyl liners, preventing groundwater contamination.
 
Our town is doing it also. I was doing what tnthomas is doing but am wondering if when it gets to the landfill will it harm birds and animals or leach out in that area?
 

Ruth n Jersey said:
Our town is doing it also. I was doing what tnthomas is doing but am wondering if when it gets to the landfill will it harm birds and animals or leach out in that area?
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The landfill in my area picks through trash picked up from residences, in a huge covered area. Then, the big bull dozers shove the garbage into the fill area, then cover with dirt.

The whole landfill has a double vinyl liner to prevent groundwater contamination.

Edit: if unsure about your local landfill practices, maybe taking unused drugs to either the police, or the healthcare facility that you use would be a better option.
 
You can put mix them in with used cat litter and throw them out that way too, putting them in the toilet just makes them end up in our water. Can't say I've had very many unused drugs to dispose of over the years.
 
Our city has a big red drop box for unused meds. For the past 10 years I have never fully utilized the monthly pain meds prescription and it is an ongoing joke when I drop my leftovers off. Guess I am only one that has ever turned in Vicodin 10's........ Crap, I could be rich if I was crook.....
 
SeaBreeze said:
You can put mix them in with used cat litter and throw them out that way too, putting them in the toilet just makes them end up in our water. Can't say I've had very many unused drugs to dispose of over the years.
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That's a good idea Seabreeze.

I suppose a person could put them in the freezer and throw them away with the trash. That wouldn't harm anything. IDK.
 
Robusta said:
Never, Not that I don't trust the police, but I do not trust the police. I burn paper trash and toss them into the burn barrel.
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Too much information that is on and can derived from many a prescription label. Just the label alone is enough for me to dispose of myself. One tact I've used of the years is never throw out the entire bottle. If nothing else the drug quantity is too concentrated and if anyone does see a script bottle they will trash your trash. Exposure to air and other stuffff in trash should be enough to minimize them.

Also during the zombie apocalypse drugs will be more valuable than gold so what's the rush.
 
I had several prescription drugs at the time of my husband's death four years ago.
Not knowing what to do with them, I called the pharmacy where they came from. They accepted all of them back without any hassle whatsoever, and said they could dispose of them. I was just glad they took them for me.

One unused prescription, bought the morning that my husband died, I got a $70 gift card in exchange.
After discussion with the pharmacy manager, they told me that it was considered used once it left the store. But they understood my situation and gave me the gift card for the price of the drug.
 
Yes, putting them in the toilet, or down drain can muddy the water system. The reason it is suggested that you put them in dirty cat litter, or wet coffee grounds is actually to prevent people from going through your trash to get them and re-sell them on the street. Most prescription drugs do have a street value.
 
Years ago, I used to work in home care, so when hubby passed, I gathered up all of the left-over meds and medical supplies and gave it all to an organization that I knew of that quietly aided people who were dealing with traumatic illnesses. The meds and supplies were then given to patients who had a difficult time affording basic medications or even bed pads/etc.

My pets have gone to the same animal hospital for over 30 years and when I have left over meds from my pets, I give the meds back to the hospital and they give them (free) to seniors who are on limited incomes.
 
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