By Ani Aramyan, BCSC PACE Director of Pharmacy
If you’re 55 or older, chances are you’ve got a few mystery pill bottles tucked away in a cabinet or drawer. You know the ones—medications you stopped taking months ago, or prescriptions you may not even recall why they were prescribed in the first place. Your home deserves to be free of these unwanted and potentially dangerous “squatters.” This is why safe medication disposal is more important than you might think.
If you’ve stopped taking a medication, let your pharmacy know as soon as possible. They can officially discontinue it and prevent those automatic refills from piling up. The result will be less clutter, less waste, and more space in your cabinets for the things you actually need as well as other items like —in the bathroom items like health and beauty products and in the kitchen more fun items like healthy snacks and your favorite mugs.
A 2022 survey of patients in Southern California found that about 43% of people were unaware of proper medication disposal methods. On a national level, more than 85% of respondents reported not knowing the correct way to dispose of medications. As a pharmacist, I’ve heard many stories from adults 55+ about how they handle their unused prescriptions—sometimes safely, sometimes not at all. What’s clear is that education plays a vital role in ensuring safe medication disposal. That’s why I’ve put together the following list of key tips to help manage medications responsibly.
Here are some simple options for disposing of unwanted medications at home.
Option 1: Drug Take-Back
Many pharmacies have secure drop-off boxes for expired or unwanted medications. Think of it as a clean break—you drop the pills in, walk away, and don’t look back. To find a location near you, visit safe.pharmacy/drug-disposal.
Option 2: Drug Mail-Back Envelopes
With mail-back envelopes, you just place your unwanted meds inside, seal it, and hand it over to the postal service, without ever needing to leave home. It’s like sending your pills on a permanent vacation—no postcards, no souvenirs, no chance of them showing up at your doorstep again.
Option 3: Do it Yourself Disposal at Home
Feeling crafty? You can get rid of old meds right at home—no pharmacy trip required. Here’s how:
- First, pop those meds out of their bottles and mix them with something that is a bit messy such as: —used coffee grounds, dirt, cat litter, that casserole experiment from last week – anything that screams “Do Not Eat.” This way, kids, pets, and even trash-diving raccoons won’t be tempted.
- Seal the mixture in something that closes tight, like a plastic bag or an old Tupperware container.
- Discard the safely sealed container in the trash like yesterday’s leftovers.
- Be certain you have removed your personal information from the empty bottles before discarding them. Medication labels contain a great deal of PHI (personal health information, including names, contact information and health conditions).
At Brandman Centers for Senior Care PACE, we encourage all participants to practice safe medication disposal. As Director of Pharmacy, my priority is ensuring everyone understands and follows this important step—because the consequences of not doing so can be extremely serious. To learn more about BCSC PACE, please contact us at 844-952-7223.
