Don’t Flush Medications — Dispose of Them Safely This Saturday on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

April 21, 2025

It’s time for spring cleaning, and your medicine cabinet is the perfect place to start — you can safely dispose of unused medications this Saturday, April 25, during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

When getting rid of old medications, NEVER flush them down the toilet. Flushing pharmaceuticals leads to source water contamination, because wastewater treatment plants were not designed to remove these chemical compounds. Aside from potentially showing up in drinking water, scientists have found high concentrations of pharmaceuticals in fish. Some of the more common compounds they detected include antifungals, heart drugs, opioids, and antidepressants. (In the accompanying photo, a child at an LCA Earth Day event correctly determines that medications don’t belong in the toilet.)

Throwing medications in the trash or leaving them in the medicine chest is also problematic, because it can lead to unintentional use, overdose, and abuse. Studies show most teens who misused prescription drugs got them from family, friends, or found them at home.

And while overdose deaths have declined — from over 110,000 nationwide in 2023 to 75,000 in 2024 — it’s still a significant problem. The National Center for Drug Use Statistics reports at least 13.8 million people abuse prescription drugs each year. Many of these drugs are old or unused medications that are just sitting around the house and easily accessible to children.

A Safe Alternative

Instead of risking prescription drug misuse, dispose of these pharmaceuticals safely and properly, for FREE, during the DEA’s 29th annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at sites across the greater Lehigh Valley. Nationwide, last year’s take-back event kept 287 tons of medications out of wastewater systems!

To find a disposal site near you, check out the DEA’s Take Back Day Site Locator.

Permanent Dropoff Locations

Can’t make it to the prescription drug collection event on Saturday? No worries. In Lehigh County, there are multiple permanent locations where you can safely drop off unused medications through The Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Take-Back Program. Each location has a secure prescription drug take-back box installed — you can find them here.

If you’re outside the county, just go to the state’s Drug Take Back Locations page and search by zip code or county. Pharmacies often have a take-back program as well — contact yours for more information.

No matter how or when you dispose of your medications, here’s how to use the take-back boxes — and what they can be used for:

HOW TO PREPARE ITEMS FOR DISPOSAL

  • All pharmaceutical drugs to be disposed must be placed in a sealed container such as the original bottle or zip-lock bag
  • Liquid pharmaceuticals should remain in the original container
  • Personal information should be removed or marked out with a permanent marker

YOU CAN DISPOSE OF:

  • Prescription and over-the-counter solid medications
  • Tablets and capsules
  • Pet medicines 

YOU MAY NOT DROP OFF:

  • Intravenous solutions
  • Injectables, syringes, and needles (i.e., EpiPens)*; these need to be taken to a health care professional’s office or to a hospital for disposal
  • Hydrogen peroxide
  • Compressed cylinders or aerosols (e.g., asthma inhalers)
  • Iodine-containing medications
  • Thermometers
  •  Alcohol & Schedule 1 drugs (i.e., marijuana, heroin, LSD, etc.)

Related Articles