How to Safely Store and Dispose of Medications
How to Safely Store Medications
Store medications in secure locations such as:
- Lock-boxes
- Medication Safes
- Locked cabinets
- Or other lockable spaces
Avoid storage places where children and others can easily access, such as:
- Drawers
- Nightstands
- Or unlocked kitchen cabinets
How to Dispose of Medications
Once finished with a prescription medication, you have three options for disposal:
- Safely dispose of medications by placing them in a local drug drop-box:
- Lobby of Buncombe Sheriff’s Office – 339 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, NC
- Lobby of Buncombe County Courthouse – 60 Court Plaza, Asheville, NC
- Lobby of Asheville Police Department – 100 Court Plaza, Asheville, NC
- Take advantage of community drug take-back programs that allow the public to bring unused medications to central locations for proper disposal.
- No drop-box or take back near you? Dispose medications safely at home:
- Remove pills from bottle and mix them with undesirable substances
such as kitty litter or coffee grounds. - Throw away the sealed mixture into the trash.
- Remove the prescription label and dispose of the empty bottle.
- Remove pills from bottle and mix them with undesirable substances