If you have unused, expired or simply unwanted medication, don’t throw it away in the garbage or especially not down the toilet or in your sink drain. Instead, bring this medication back to any of our 67 Bartell locations and deposit them in our bins by the pharmacy for safe disposal. This service is now available as a part of Washington State’s secure drug take-back program.
Why is safely disposing your medication so important? According to National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), two-thirds of teens who misused pain relievers in the past year say that they got them from family and friends. This is including their home’s medicine cabinets.
There are also serious environmental impacts to disposing your medication down the drain. Most medicines are not removed from our water treatment plants and septic systems, which means those drugs end up in our ground and marine waters as well as the soil itself. These residual deposits have a negative impact on our marine mammals, fish, and other water-dwelling creatures.
So why not just throw your unused prescriptions in the trash? A couple reasons. First, there is still a risk that children or pets may accidentally get into your trash and consume this unwanted medication. Secondly, prescription drugs can be quite potent, and small doses may still be released into the environment through garbage run off.
Fortunately, disposing medication is as easy as swinging by your nearest Bartell’s! We will accept unused medication, even if the prescription didn’t come from us. The safety of our community is our priority.
Looking to dispose of sharps waste? This is any device or object used to puncture or lacerate the skin. We can dispose of sharps waste (including epi-pens) separately and only in appropriate containers for a small fee of $2 – $10 depending on the size of the container. To acquire mail-mack boxes for proper disposal, please visit https://med-project.org/locations/king-county/mail-back/