Where to Dispose of Unwanted Medicine

If your medicine is expired, unused or just unwanted, you can dispose of the medication at your local police station.

A secured collection box is available at the Athens-Clarke-County Police East Precinct and the West Precinct between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Other surrounding cities also have police stations with these drop boxes for unwanted medications.

Oconee County Sherriff Department

Winder Police Department

Jefferson City Police Department

Removing unwanted, unused and expired medications needs to be done as soon as possible to help prevent the chance of other people in the household from accidentally or intentionally taking the medicine.

If you cannot make it to either of these drop boxes you can dispose of them at home, but must follow specific steps, according to the FDA (Federal Drug Administration).

1. Remove drugs from their original containers and mix with something like coffee grounds, dirt or cat litter.
2. Put the mixture in a sealable container to prevent the drug from leaking out
3. Throw the container in the garbage
4. Scratch out all your personal information on the empty medicine packaging to protect your identity and privacy.

Some medicines are to harmful to others, and would need to be immediately flushed down the sink or toilet. To know which medicines would be included, you can check the label or look over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list.  However, this can potentially cause contamination to local aquatic environments and wastewater treatment systems are not designed to remove medications, according to the Athens-Clarke-County Unified Government.