Today is National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day which is a yearly reminder to get rid of old and out of date prescriptions.  

Though the name specifically says cabinet, this day is for any place in your home that might have drugs like your bedside table, random drawers, etc. By doing this yearly clean up you can help prevent the misuse of drugs 

National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day began in 2019 and was started by DisposeRx which is a company that provides resources for people to safely dispose of medicine. Misusing medication can result in suicide, addiction, and overdosing if not addressed.  

But just throwing them away isn’t enough. 

These drugs need to be disposed of in a safe way that doesn’t harm people, animals, or any ecosystems. Environmental studies show that when medications are flushed down the toilet, those drugs can go to bodies of water and hurt aquatic life. If those drugs are just thrown in the trash, they can leak into the soil and contaminate it. 

One way to combat this is at-home disposal. DisposeRx offers at-home disposal to pharmacies and caregivers. This makes at-home disposal super easy since some pharmacies just send the disposal pack along with any prescriptions home with the customer.  

Another option is to wait for the Drug Enforcement Agency's National Drug Takeback Day which happens to be this Saturday, April 22. 

In Southern Utah, the Hurricane and St. George Police Departments will be participating in National Drug Takeback Day by having locations for locals to drop off unneeded medication. The SGPD will be set up at Smith’s Grocery on Bluff St from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The HCPD will also be set up on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. but at the Wal-Mart parking lot located at 180 North 3400 West.  

The SGPD also has a safe disposal medication box for use year-round.

Medications that will be accepted are:  

  • Prescription medications (scheduled, controlled, and noncontrolled.) 
  • Over the counter medications. 

Not Accepted: 

  • Illegal drugs, needles, lotions or liquids, inhalers, aerosol cans, thermometers, hydrogen peroxide. 

 

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