Properly Disposing of Medicine

Have you organized your medicine cabinet lately?

Did you find expired medicine, over-the-counter medications or supplements Some medication can become toxic the longer that they are overdue. And it is not safe to give prescription medicines to others. Floyd Valley Healthcare encourages you to dispose of unwanted or expired medicine at the MedSafe collection point located in the entry vestibule inside the West Entrance.

This drop-off can dispose of:

  • prescription medicines
  • OTC medicines
  • dietary supplements
  • inhalers.

To properly dispose of medications and supplements:

  1. Identify expired medications. Put them aside and out-of-reach of children
  2. Follow label instructions for proper disposable as some medicines may have special instructions.  DO NOT flush any medicine down the toilet or pour into a sink or drain.
  3. Take the unwanted medication drop-off, such as the one at FVH.
  4. Medications do not need to be in their original container to dispose of them.  If you do bring in their container, please remove all personal details, such as name and address label, from the medication before dropping it off.  If you cannot remove, black out this information.
  5. This is NOT a drop off for sharp containers.

It is essential to dispose of any unwanted medication safely to protect other people and animals from taking them by mistake. 

Disposing of medications properly protects others AND the environment by:

  • preventing drug abuse and health risks
  • protecting the environment by keeping contaminants out of lakes, rivers, streams and other natural resources
  • ensuring that wildlife will not have accident ingestion if they rummage through your garbage.