Medication Disposal

Proper Disposal of Medications:

Don't throw medicine away in the toilet or the trash. It could end up in the landfill, in the wrong hands or in your drinking water. Bring your medications to the Safe Medicine Disposal box at Sonoma State's Student Health Center lobby Monday-Thursday 8 am-5 pm and Friday 9:30 am- 5 pm, excluding campus holidays and closures.

What's Accepted:

• Prescription and over-the-counter pills and capsules
• Liquid medications (Including: ointments, lotions and creams)
• Vitamins and supplements
• Medication patches
• Empty Inhalers

What's Not Accepted:

• Needles/sharps
• Personal care products  (body lotion, shampoo etc.)

How to Dispose of Medications:

• Empty your pills or capsules into a Zip-lock bag and recycle the bottle at home. (Zip-lock bags will also be available at the SHC)
• If you are disposing liquid or cream medications, block out all personal information on the bottle and put in the Zip-lock bag
• Put the zip-lock bag in the green box located in the SHC lobby and feel good about helping the environment

Why is it important to properly dispose of medications?

1. When you flush over-the-counter or prescription medications they go into surface water and can harm aquatic life or enter the food chain. 
2. Throwing your medications in the trash or having  them live in your medicine cabinet for years may allow them to end up in the hands of young family members or people with substance abuse problems.
3. Medications sitting in landfills will eventually leach into groundwater and end up in your drinking water.

For more information: Safe Medication Disposal