Safe Disposal of Medications

Charlotte County Take-Back Box Locations:
(NOTE: no liquids or sharps)

Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office
District 1
11051 Wilmington Blvd
Englewood

Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office
District 3
3110 Loveland Blvd.
Port Charlotte

Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office
​Administrative Building
7474 Utilities Road
Punta Gorda

Punta Gorda Public Safety Complex
1410 Tamiami Trail
Punta Gorda

Walgreens – Englewood
2940 S McCall Rd
Englewood, FL 34224


Desoto County Take-Back Box Location:
(NOTE: no liquids or sharps)

Desoto County Sheriff Office
208 E Cypress Street
Arcadia, FL 34266

“Almost all medicines can be safely disposed of by using medicine take-back programs…”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Why use a Medication Disposal Box?

Using approved Medication Take-Back Boxes helps protect you and your home and the environment.

The EPA shares this information on properly disposing of medications can help you and the environment:

      • Prevents poisoning of children and pets
      • Deters misuse by teenagers and adults
      • Avoids health problems from accidentally taking the wrong medicine, too much of the same medicine, or a medicine that is too old to work well
      • Keeps medicines from entering streams and rivers when poured down the drain or flushed down the toilet In homes that use septic tanks, prescription and over-the-counter drugs flushed down the toilet can leach into the ground and seep into ground water.

In cities and towns where residences are connected to wastewater treatment plants, prescription and over-the-counter drugs poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet can pass through the treatment system and enter rivers and lakes. They may flow downstream to serve as sources for community drinking water supplies. Water treatment plants are generally not equipped to routinely remove medicines.

Download more information from the EPA

What if I can’t get to a box?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers these tips for disposing medication when you are not able to use a take-back box:

Throw the drugs in the household trash following these steps:

    1. Remove them from their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds, dirt or kitty litter (this makes the drug less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through the trash seeking drugs).
    2. Place the mixture in a sealable bag, empty can or other container to prevent the drug from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.

FDA’s Ilisa Bernstein, Pharm.D., J.D., offers a few more tips:

        • Scratch out all identifying information on the prescription label to make it unreadable. This will help protect your identity and the privacy of your personal health information.
        • Do not give your medicine to friends. Doctors prescribe medicines based on your specific symptoms and medical history. Something that works for you could be dangerous for someone else.
        • When in doubt about proper disposal, ask your pharmacist.

Bernstein says the same disposal methods for prescription drugs could apply to over-the-counter drugs as well.

Learn more at FDA’s website for safe disposal