How do you dispose of old medications?

Question

So I was reading up on this drug and noticed some warnings about enviromental dangers with it. Aparently it killed off all the vultures in India. Now this stuff is supposed to be an Nsaid, kind of like Asprin. Aparently kills fish too. So other than not taking it or buying this particular drug, I was wondering how to get rid of old medicines in my cabinet - without killing of any species!

If you are interested in the drug article you can find it on Wik at the bottom of the page...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diclofenac

Answer 1

for liquid drugs close them tightly and dispose it . i do it this way.and as for the pills u can just drain them as they get dissolved in water i do that too

Answer 2

It is comforting to see that your are concerned about the environment. To dispose of old medications you have two choices: 1) build a rocket and launch the meds into outer space or 2) sell them to the junkie on the corner. I hope that helps.  

Answer 3

flush it down the toilet...thats what drug companies do!

Answer 4

Its hard I know. Flush it and it gets into the ground water Throw them away and they will end up in a land fill and who know what scavenger will eat it. There seems to be no real solution. I would think maybe take it to a pharmacy but all they would do would probably be throw it out! We are stuck it seems!

Answer 5

Take any medication you have (ceased, expired, late property) to your local pharmacy.  We put them in a special bin (Down Under it's called a 'yellow bin') and it's disposed of responsibly.

Hope that helps clear it up a bit.

Answer 6

http://www.ct.gov/dcp/cwp/view.asp?a=162...

This site has instructions on how to dispose of your old drugs properly, or you can just call your local pharmacy or hospital to see if they will dispose of it for you.