What to do with your expired medication in Las Vegas
Next time you want to discard your old medicine, don’t flush it down the drain.
There are many drop off locations around Southern Nevada where you can discard your old meds instead of flushing them, which can pollute water and harm wildlife.
Metropolitan Police Department medicine disposal locations
There are several area commands and substations across the valley that handle medicine disposals.
Click here to see the full list of drop off locations and their hours, which includes LVMPD Headquarters.
Pharmacies with disposal locations
Many CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Vons and Albertsons locations in Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Boulder City are medicine drop off locations — but not all of them.
To find a pharmacy that accepts drop-offs, visit the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division’s website to use their search tool where you can find a drugstore near you that accepts expired medications. You can search by your zip code or city and state.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy also has an online database at safe.pharmacy/drug-disposal where you can search for pharmacies that accept medicine drop-offs by your zip code or city and state.
The website also lists the pharmacy’s drop off instructions and what medications are accepted at each location. Directions to the pharmacy are also available at the website.
What about needles?
If you need to drop off a used needle, safeneedledisposal.org provides information on where you drop off your used needles.
In the state of Nevada, needles must first be placed in a “strong, plastic container,” like a laundry detergent bottle before disposal. The bottle should only be filled three-quarters of the way, and the lid should be sealed with duct tape and labeled “DO NOT RECYCLE,” the website states.
Republic Services offers a sharps disposal service, where people can order mail-back kits for their used medical sharps and needles. Each kit includes instructions for disposal, a disposal container, pre-paid return postage and disposal tracking documents.
For details and to purchase a mail-back kit, visit republicsharpes.com.
What to do if you can’t bring your meds to a disposal location
If you can’t bring your medication to a substation or pharmacy for disposal, the Southern Nevada Health District recommends you dump all solid medications into a sealable plastic bag, add an absorbant product such as kitty litter or coffee grounds, then add liquid medications.
After all medications and absorbant product are in the bag, seal or tape the bag shut and place the sealed bag in the garbage.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.
