Medication disposal: How to get rid of unused or expired medicine

Cancer treatment and its side effects can result in a lot of medications. But what should you do once you or a loved one no longer need these medications or they're past their expiration date?

It's important to dispose of these medications properly, whether they’re chemotherapy drugs (such as vismodegib), high-potency pain relievers (many considered controlled substances), or drugs that target specific defects on cancer cells (vemurafenib).

“Put simply, it’s a safety issue,” says Linda Ju, PharmD, retail pharmacy manager at MD Anderson. “Properly disposing of expired or unused medications isn’t just about cleaning out your cabinet; it’s about keeping things safe, effective, and risk-free. You wouldn’t want any of these things falling into the wrong hands, especially a curious child or pet.” 

Here’s what to know about disposing of your unused or expired medications.

How to find an authorized collection location

The best way to get rid of most conventional medications is to find an authorized take-back location that will destroy them at no cost to you. You can find these by visiting the Food and Drug Administration’s website.  

MD Anderson is also an authorized take-back location. We have two green disposal bins on our Texas Medical Center Campus. These bins are located outside the pharmacies at: 

• Main Building (Floor 2, near Elevator C)  
• Mays Clinic (Floor 2, near The Tree Sculpture) 

Anyone on campus is welcome to use them.  

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also sponsors a National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event twice a year, usually on Saturdays in April and October. During these events, you can drop off unused or expired medications at nearby police stations, fire stations and other local civic centers designated as official collection sites. 

Any type of unused or expired medication — including over-the-counter drugs such as cough syrup or antihistamines, and even veterinary medicines — can be dropped off on these days for proper disposal by law enforcement personnel. 

To reduce the chances of identity theft, be sure to remove any part of a drug’s label that displays your name, address, phone number, prescription number, or any other personally identifying information. 

Ask your care team how to dispose of drugs associated with cancer treatment

Keep in mind that take-back programs are meant primarily for common, well-established medications. So, check with your care team if you have any prescription drugs associated with your cancer treatment. 

“The rules are a little different for cancer patients,” notes Ju, “because they are often receiving highly specialized — or even experimental — drugs.”  

If you are on a clinical trial, for instance, make sure you return all your medications to the research nurse or clinical study coordinator. “Do not discard any of those drugs through a take-back program,” emphasizes Ju. 

How to dispose of medicines at home

What if there’s no authorized collection location nearby, a “take-back day” is still months away, and you don’t have any mail-in options? Good news: you can still safely dispose of some unused and expired medications at home. 

Most conventional medications can be sealed in a container with something inedible — such as used cat litter, sawdust or old coffee grounds — and discarded in your regular household trash. Be sure to wrap the container securely so that its contents are not obvious, and discard it as close to the trash pick-up time as possible. 

But you should flush high-dose pain relievers and some other prescription drugs down the toilet to prevent their abuse or accidental ingestion by children. You shouldn’t flush other types of medications (such as birth control pills, antibiotics or mood-altering chemicals), though, as traces of pharmaceuticals have been found in both water supplies and wildlife. 

You should also never give your prescriptions to anyone else. 

“It is not only illegal to give someone a drug that wasn’t prescribed for them, it is also unsafe,” says Ju. “You never know how someone is going to react to a particular drug, or how it might interact with other things they’re taking. So, never give a prescription drug to someone it wasn’t intended for.” 

Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.