Waste Rules · September 17, 2026 · Updated September 25, 2026

How to Dispose of Old Medication Before Take Back Day 2026

The DEA's next Take Back Day is October 24, 2026 — what to do with unused medicine before and after it.

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In this article

Most leftover medicine should go to a take-back site, not the trash. The DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day returns October 24, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but pharmacies, police stations and mail-back programs collect unused pills every week of the year. How to dispose of old medication safely depends on the drug: a short federal list of especially dangerous ones should be flushed, and everything else goes in the trash only after it is mixed with something unappealing and sealed in a bag.

Context photo: Loose prescription tablets and capsules set aside for disposal as medical waste. Pöllö, 2009-12-09. CC BY 3.0 · Source. Resized for web.

Washington, California and New York run three of the country’s state-funded take-back systems. Each state’s rules and numbers below are that state’s own.

Year-round options for unused medicine

A DEA-authorized collector. Retail pharmacies, hospitals with an on-site pharmacy and law enforcement offices can register as year-round drop-off locations. The DEA’s own locator finds the nearest one by ZIP code.
A prepaid mail-back envelope. Many pharmacies and community sites hand out free, postage-paid envelopes; fill one, seal it and drop it at any U.S. Postal Service office or blue collection box.
A state take-back program. Washington, California and New York each require drug manufacturers to fund statewide kiosks and mailers, at no charge to the person disposing of the medicine — see the state programs below.
Hospital-based collection, for sharps. Needles and other self-administered sharps are handled separately from pills; New York, for one, requires every hospital in the state except federal facilities to collect household sharps.

The FDA flush list

The FDA tells people not to flush medicine down the toilet or sink unless it appears on its flush list — a short set of drugs picked because a single accidental dose can kill a child, an adult or a pet. The list is mostly opioids: any drug containing buprenorphine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, meperidine, methadone, morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone or tapentadol. A few non-opioids are also listed, including sodium oxybate (Xyrem, Xywav) and the methylphenidate transdermal patch Daytrana. The FDA’s guidance is explicit about the order to try: use a take-back location first; if one isn’t readily available, use a mail-back envelope; only if neither option is available should a flush-list medicine be flushed. A medicine that is not on the flush list should never be flushed — it goes in the trash instead.

Putting medicine in the trash

For a medicine that is not on the flush list and has no nearby take-back option, the FDA’s instructions are specific: do not crush the pills. Mix the medicine with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter or used coffee grounds, then seal the mixture in a plastic bag before it goes in the household trash. Scratch out any personal information on the empty prescription label before recycling or discarding the container.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, October 24, 2026

The DEA’s next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day runs October 24, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at sites nationwide staffed by local law enforcement. It happens twice a year, in spring and fall. The October 2025 event collected 571,054 pounds (286 tons) of medication, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Campus Drug Prevention site — bringing the program’s total since the fall of 2010 to more than 20.3 million pounds. Missed the day itself? The same DEA site links the year-round disposal locator, so the date on the calendar isn’t the only chance.

Three state programs

Washington

Washington’s Safe Medication Return system, created by state law (chapter 69.48 RCW) and expanded in 2021 and again in 2023, is funded entirely by the manufacturers of the drugs sold in the state — there is no cost to residents or taxpayers. An approved program operator, currently MED-Project, runs kiosks at retail pharmacies, hospitals and clinics with an on-site pharmacy, law enforcement agencies and substance-use treatment programs, and must also supply free mail-back envelopes and hold periodic take-back events, typically twice a year, in areas without a nearby kiosk. The Washington State Department of Health oversees compliance and can be reached at SafeMedReturn@doh.wa.gov or 360-236-4698.

California

California’s Pharmaceutical and Sharps Waste Stewardship Law, SB 212, requires drug manufacturers to fund a statewide collection system through CalRecycle-approved stewardship plans. Consumers find a drop-off location or order mail-back envelopes through medtakebackcalifornia.org or by calling (844) 4-TAKE-BACK. Two stewardship organizations have operated the covered-drugs program; the Drug Takeback Solutions Foundation notified CalRecycle it will end its plan on June 30, 2026, after which MED-Project is expected to be the state’s sole operator for covered drugs. Retail pharmacies are required to serve as authorized collectors under county-level convenience standards set by the law.

New York

New York’s 2018 Drug Take Back Act requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to fund the state’s collection program; the Department of Health approved two operators, Inmar Rx Solutions and MED-Project, in June 2022. Chain pharmacies with ten or more New York locations, along with mail-order pharmacies serving New York residents, must offer a collection method such as an on-site drop box or a mail-back envelope, all free to the consumer. Residents search medtakebacknewyork.org or call (844) 4-TAKE-BACK to find a site. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation adds one warning worth repeating anywhere: most municipal household hazardous waste collections do not accept pharmaceuticals, so a town’s HHW day is not a substitute for the drug take-back network.

How to find the rule where you live

Search the DEA’s year-round disposal locator by ZIP code before assuming the nearest option is a Take Back Day.
Ask your pharmacy directly — many retail chains host a permanent drop box or hand out mail-back envelopes as part of their state’s program.
Check whether your state runs its own funded system; Washington, California and New York are three examples, and other states run similar manufacturer-funded programs.
For everything else about your city’s waste rules, start from your state hub.

What this is not

A household hazardous waste day is not a medicine drop-off. New York’s own environmental agency says most municipal HHW collections do not take pharmaceuticals; check the program’s own list before bringing medicine.
The flush list is not a general rule for medicine. It covers a specific, short list of high-risk drugs. Everything else that isn’t taken back goes in the trash, mixed and sealed as the FDA describes — never down the drain.
Take Back Day is not the only day this works. DEA-authorized collectors, pharmacy kiosks and mail-back envelopes operate year-round in most states.

Questions

When is the next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day?

October 24, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at collection sites nationwide; the DEA holds the event twice a year, in spring and fall.

What if I can’t get to a Take Back Day site?

DEA-authorized collectors — many pharmacies, hospitals and police stations — take back medicine year-round, and the DEA’s own site locator finds the nearest one by ZIP code.

Which medicines can go down the toilet?

Only the drugs on the FDA’s flush list, mostly opioids such as those containing fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine or buprenorphine, plus a few non-opioids like Xyrem and the Daytrana patch — flush them only if no take-back option is available.

Can I just throw old medicine in the trash?

If it isn’t on the FDA’s flush list and no take-back option is available, yes: mix it, without crushing pills, with dirt, cat litter or used coffee grounds, seal it in a bag, and scratch personal information off the empty container.

Does my pharmacy have a drop box or mail-back envelope?

Many do, through a state or manufacturer-funded program such as Washington’s Safe Medication Return, California’s stewardship program under SB 212, or New York’s Drug Take Back Act — each state’s own locator shows participating pharmacies.

Will a household hazardous waste collection take my old medicine?

Not usually. New York’s environmental agency says most municipal household hazardous waste collections do not accept pharmaceuticals, so check your local program’s accepted-materials list before bringing medicine.

Sources

Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Division, National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, no date shown: confirms the next Take Back Day is October 24, 2026, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and links year-round pharmaceutical disposal locations.
Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Division, Drug Disposal Information, no date shown: the year-round disposal-location search for residents who missed Take Back Day.
Office of National Drug Control Policy, Campus Drug Prevention: National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, no date shown: the October 2025 Take Back Day collected 571,054 lbs. (286 tons) of medication, and the event runs twice a year.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Drug Disposal: FDA’s Flush List for Certain Medicines, updated October 31, 2024: the medicines FDA recommends flushing, and why.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Drug Disposal: Questions and Answers, no date shown: the order of preference among take-back, mail-back and flushing.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know, updated October 31, 2024: the trash-disposal steps — mixing, sealing and scratching out label information.
Washington State Department of Health, Safe Medication Return, no date shown: the statewide, manufacturer-funded system for people and pet medication.
Washington State Department of Health, Laws, Funding, and Oversight, no date shown: chapter 69.48 RCW, manufacturer funding, and the current program operator.
Washington State Department of Health, Program Operations, no date shown: who can host a kiosk, mail-back distribution, and take-back events in underserved areas.
CalRecycle, Pharmaceutical Waste Stewardship, no date shown: the statewide, industry-run program at no cost to consumers, and its locator and phone number.
CalRecycle, Pharmaceutical Waste Stewardship Plans, no date shown: MED-Project as the remaining approved operator after June 30, 2026.
California Legislative Information, SB 212 (2017–2018), Pharmaceutical and Sharps Waste Stewardship: the law that created California’s stewardship program.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Safe Medication Disposal For Households, no date shown: take-back guidance, the household hazardous waste caveat, and the hospital sharps-collection requirement.
New York State Department of Health, Drug Take Back, no date shown: the 2018 Drug Take Back Act, the approved operators, and the locator and phone number.
New York State Department of Health, New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation Announce Approval of Two Drug Take Back Programs, June 8, 2022: the approval of Inmar Rx Solutions and MED-Project as statewide operators.