Can you toss unused, expired medication? Here are 11 drop-off spots near Belleville
If you’re doing some spring cleaning in Illinois, you may be wondering how to safely dispose of any prescription medication you have that expired or is no longer in use.
Most medications can be safely thrown away in your household garbage can, but others, including inhalers, can be dangerous if punctured or thrown into an incinerator.
The majority of unused medications should not be flushed or poured down the drain, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
“Flushing medicines or pouring them down the sink can create the potential for harmful chemicals to end up in our waterways and drinking water,” the agency’s website reads.
The best way to dispose of most expired drugs or medications you no longer take is through a safe medication take-back program, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports.
The Illinois Drug Take-Back Act was signed into law in 2022, and entitles every county to at least one medication collection location per 50,000 residents, financed by pharmaceutical manufacturers, according to the Illinois EPA.
Proper medication disposal can help prevent accidental poisoning, substance abuse and water contamination, the Illinois EPA says, and you should never burn pharmaceuticals or personal care products in a barrel.
The metro-east offers several safe medication return locations. Here’s where you can go.
Where to dispose of medications near Belleville
Here’s a list of drop-off locations for unwanted medications in the metro-east:
- Walgreens at 5890 North Belt West in Belleville
- CVS Pharmacy at 4609 W. Main St. in Belleville
- Swansea Police Department, 1400 North Illinois St. in Swansea
- Fairview Heights Police Department, 10027 Bunkum Road in Fairview Heights
- CVS Pharmacy at 753 W. Highway 50 in O’Fallon
- Millstadt Pharmacy, 120 W. Washington St. in Millstadt
- O’Fallon Public Safety Building, 285 North Seven Hills Road in O’Fallon
- Medicate Central Pharmacy, 1833 Kingshighway in Washington Park
- Walgreens at 2510 State St. in East St. Louis
- Dauber Pharmacy, 16 E. Main St. in Mascoutah
- Collinsville Police Department, 200 West Clay St. in Collinsville
You may want to check ahead of time for operating hours and whether the location you plan to visit accepts the type of medication you wish to safely discard.
You can search for more safe medication drop-off locations online. You can also order free supplies to mail in your unwanted medications. Call 844-482-5322 for more information or to request mail-in supplies.
If you can’t access a drop-off location or mail-in supplies, and your medication does not include specific disposal instructions, such as flushing, the FDA recommends following these steps to safely dispose of most unwanted medications:
1. “Remove the drugs from their original containers.
2. Mix medicines (liquid or pills; do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds;
3. Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag;
4. Throw away the container in your trash at home; and
5. Scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of empty medicine bottles or medicine packaging, then trash or recycle the empty bottle or packaging.”
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