Every year, millions of unused prescription drugs sit in bathroom cabinets, kitchen drawers, and medicine chests across the U.S. Some are old painkillers. Others are leftover antibiotics or anxiety meds no longer needed. These aren’t just clutter-they’re risks. Kids find them. Teens experiment with them. Pets get into them. And when flushed down the toilet or tossed in the trash, they pollute waterways and soil. That’s why the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day exists.
The next event is scheduled for October 25, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. Over 4,500 collection sites will be open that day, spread across police stations, hospitals, pharmacies, and community centers. Since it started in 2010, the program has collected nearly 10 million pounds of medications. That’s over 4,500 tons of drugs taken off the streets and out of homes.
But here’s what you can’t bring:
If you have liquid medications, make sure they’re in their original bottles with the label still attached. Don’t pour them out or transfer them to other containers. Law enforcement staff need to verify what’s inside.
This process follows strict federal rules under the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010. Every collection site must be operated by a law enforcement agency. Pharmacies and hospitals can host the event, but only if they’re working directly with police or DEA agents.
That’s why Take-Back Day isn’t just about cleaning out your cabinet. It’s about saving lives. In 2024 alone, the April event collected 620,321 pounds of drugs. That’s over 310 tons of opioids, benzodiazepines, and painkillers removed from potential access points. Public health experts link this to a 27% drop in opioid-related overdose deaths between 2020 and 2024.
It’s not just about addiction. It’s about kids. Pets. Elderly relatives who might accidentally take the wrong pill. One mother in Ohio told the DEA she found her 14-year-old son holding her old oxycodone bottle. She didn’t know he’d been taking them for months. She dropped off the rest of her stash at the next Take-Back Day. She said it was the first time she felt like she’d done something right.
Most sites are in convenient places: police stations, fire departments, hospital pharmacies, and major retail chains like CVS and Walgreens. Some sites are inside community centers or schools. The map on the DEA website shows exact addresses, hours, and contact info.
Pro tip: Don’t wait until the day before. Some popular sites fill up fast. Arrive early, especially if you have a large amount to drop off. Bring your meds in a bag-no need to sort them. Staff will handle the rest.
Walgreens and CVS now have permanent take-back kiosks in over 1,200 locations. University Hospitals in Ohio has them in all three of their main pharmacies. These kiosks work the same way: just walk in, drop it in, and go. No questions asked.
If you can’t find a kiosk nearby, the FDA recommends mixing pills with an unappealing substance-like cat litter, coffee grounds, or dirt-sealing them in a plastic bag, and throwing them in the trash. Never flush unless the label specifically says to. And always remove personal info from the bottle before recycling it.
Next, they’re testing a new system that connects with electronic health records. When you fill a prescription, your doctor’s software might soon pop up a reminder: “Have you disposed of your old meds?” That’s currently being tested with Epic Systems across 12 hospital networks.
Long-term, the goal is to make Take-Back Day obsolete. If every pharmacy has a kiosk, and every household knows to use it, then the biannual event becomes a backup-not the main solution.
Another said: “I thought I’d feel judged. I wasn’t. The officer even thanked me.”
People love the anonymity. They love that it’s free. They love that it’s legal. And they hate that they didn’t know about it sooner. In surveys, 28% of people say they didn’t hear about the event until after they needed to dispose of meds.
That’s the real problem-not the system. It’s the awareness.
If you’ve got old pills gathering dust, don’t flush them. Don’t toss them. Don’t keep them. Take them to a collection site on October 25-or find a permanent kiosk near you. It’s one small step that could save someone’s life.
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