How to safely dispose of unwanted medication
Bi-annually the Roseville Police Department partners with our local Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office to host a prescription drug take-back event. During these events we encourage residents to look inside their medicine cabinets to identify and discard of expired or unwanted medications. Due to the ongoing health pandemic, we will not be hosting a drug take-back event in October like we have in past years.
Instead, we’re asking all residents of Roseville, “Are you keeping your medications in a safe place at home?” We recommend keeping prescription and over-the-counter medications in a locked cabinet or container. This is especially important if you have younger children in your home or anyone else who might be tempted to misuse medications.
We also recommend sorting through your medications regularly and safely disposing those that are expired or no longer needed. Never throw medications in the trash where someone might find and misuse them, and don’t flush them down the toilet where they can pollute our water supply.
Community medication take-back days have been suspended for now due to COVID-19. Fortunately, there are several places in Roseville where you can safely dispose of unwanted medications for free throughout the year:
- Safeway, 1080 Pleasant Grove Blvd., during their regular pharmacy hours. Look for the medication disposal kiosk in the pharmacy area.
- Kaiser Permanente pharmacy at 1001 Riverside Avenue and their main campus at 1600 Eureka Road during regular pharmacy hours. Look for the medication disposal kiosks inside the pharmacies.
- Western Placer Waste Management Authority, 3195 Athens Avenue (the regional landfill just off Fiddyment Road). Follow the signs to the drive-through household hazardous waste drop-off area. You’ll need your ID or other proof that you live in Placer County. They accept medications and other household hazardous waste for free from Placer County residents. They also accept sharps (syringes and lancets) in sharps containers. Visit their website for more information.
Please do your part to safely manage your medications. If you no longer need them, please utilize one of the means mentioned to safely get rid of unwanted medications.