How To Dispose of Old Medicine in Washington State
Are you curious about how to safely dispose of old medicine in Washington State? Maybe looking for a way to throw away unwanted or expired medication safely near you. Then keep reading. It is so important to dispose of your unwanted, expired, and old medicines in a safe way but most of us have no idea how to do that. In this article, I will detail how to locate a safe disposal site for unwanted and expired medication near you as well as why it is so important to do so.
This shop has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
How Medicine Accumulates Quickly That Needs Disposed of
For some people, you might not even be able to easily conceive how you could end up with a ton of expired and unwanted medications. But for those who suffer from chronic diseases like myself, you probably know that it’s really easy to slowly accumulate a whole bunch of medicine that you no longer need or want.
I’ve dealt with chronic diseases for more than twenty years (that’s all the way back to my childhood for those who are counting.) Whether your doctors are searching for exactly which disease you are suffering from, your body adapts to the medication that you are taking and it no longer works, or you addressing new symptoms you’ve developed, you might be given new or additional medications to try.
When you are prescribed a new medication nothing is a one-size-fits-all solution.
Some drugs work better for some people, while another one might be the right fit for you. There is often a lot of trial and error when it comes to finding the right prescription or prescription.
As months and years go by you may find that you have accumulated a lot of medications that don’t work for you or may have even expired.
Why It’s Important to Safely Dispose of Old Medicine
There are so many reasons that it is important to properly dispose of medication and not just toss it in the trash or flush it down the drain.
Polluting the Ground and Water
Medicines are drugs. Even though they can be beneficial, life-saving drugs when used properly, that doesn’t change what they are. Medications (whether prescribed or over-the-counter) can be poisonous when not used as directed.
Medicines disposed of incorrectly can get into the ground or into a water source and cause pollution. Think about powerful medications you may have taken in the past. Would you want your kids drinking it (even in the most minimal amounts) on accident?
Probably not.
And while throwing away a single bottle of medication might not be too dangerous, think about everyone possibly throwing away their unwanted or expired medication incorrectly. That could potentially add up to a whole lot of poisonous drugs very quickly.
That’s why it’s so important to know how to dispose of old medicine properly.
The Opioid Crisis in America
There is a huge epidemic of drug dependence in America. This is specifically prevalent when referring to opioids but can be relative to any medication.
Those who are suffering from drug addiction, while often having a drug of choice, aren’t particularly picky when looking for a fix. If you simply toss your old medicine in the trashcan, there is a good chance it could fall into the wrong hands.
It’s important to dispose of your old medication properly so as to not have it taken by someone it wasn’t prescribed to.
Falling into the Hands of Children
If you simply throw your unwanted or expired medication into the trash it could easily be found by a child and have dangerous repercussions. Getting high, overdosing, or death comes to mind.
Whether falling into the hands of your own children or another, there could be deadly repercussions.
For this, as well as the aforementioned reasons, it is of the utmost importance to dispose of any old medication properly.
But how and where can you do that?
Washington State Safe Medication Return Program
I live in Washington State, so I am specifically addressing how to properly throw away medication in my state. There are similar programs for other states as well, but today I am addressing Washington in the PNW.
Fortunately, there are a ton of locations where you can dispose of your unwanted or expired medications in a safe way here through the Washington State Safe Disposal Program. At many of their locations you can dispose of not only prescription medications but also over-the-counter medications and your pet medications as well. (Be sure to read the details on the kiosk you are using for the safe disposal of medications. Some accept pet meds while others do not. It will say right on the kiosk though whether or not it does.)
You can use the Safe Medication Return Program website to locate your nearest location to dispose of your old meds.
The website is really easy to use.
- Simply put in your zip code
- Press the search button
- Scroll through your large list of results and choose which location is best for you to visit to turn in your unwanted or expired medications. (I like to use the grocery store pharmacy because as a busy mom then I can get all my errands taken care of at one location.)
Most police stations, pharmacies, and drug stores will have a safe medication drop-off location. My closest site was in Woodland, WA Safeway. So I gathered up all my old meds that just didn’t work for me (and some expired ones I found in my emergency first aid box) and headed to the next city over to properly dispose of my medications.
I headed back to the pharmacy and peered around looking for a bright green kiosk. (Not all but MOST of these safe drop off sites are green.) If you have trouble locating exactly where to drop your old medicines within the drop-off site that you found on the Safe Medication Return Program website, simply head over to the pharmacy and ask there.
Wrapping Up How to Dispose of Old Unwanted or Expired Medication
It is so important that you dispose of your unwanted and expired medication properly. I’m so proud of you for finding your way to this post so that you can safely dispose of your old medicine in Washington State.
The Safe Medication Disposal Program is making huge leaps towards helping to reduce the national opioid crisis and medication pollution problems facing our society today. And you are now doing your part by using their search tool to locate your nearest safe medication disposal station.
Please share either this post or even just the Safe Medication Disposal Program with your friends and family so that together we can do our best to be sure as much medication as possible is safely and properly disposed of.
