Locations in our area that will collect unused or expired prescription drugs

TULSA - Several agencies offer events throughout the year when you can drop off your unneeded or expired prescription drugs.
    
There are year-round options.

It's just what Letisha in Broken Arrow needs.   She writes   "I have a small refrigerator of liquid antibiotics and no one I've contacted knows where to take them. I know I'm not supposed to throw them away."
    
Through a program called Safe Trips for Scripts people can anonymously drop-off prescription meds at police, sheriff and jail collection sites all around Oklahoma.

Police sites in Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Sand Springs and Sapulpa all have these drop-off containers.  They look like outdoor mail drop boxes.

If you don't want to use original packaging with your personal information printed on it you can put meds in fully sealed clear plastic bag before drop-off.

Experts say never flush any medicines.

In Tulsa trash is burned at the trash to energy plant so you can mix meds with kitty litter or used coffee grounds and put them with the rest of your bagged trash for disposal.

You can call if you need further information:  (918) 743-6184.

Information prepared by the Committee on Concerns of Older Tulsans, Tulsa County Medical Society:

Important:  Do not bring syringes or inhalers to these drop-off sites.  The containers are for household use only; not for businesses such as hospitals, doctor’s offices or pharmacies.

Bixby Police Department
116 W Needles, Bixby, OK 74008
(918) 366-8294    24/7

Broken Arrow Police Department
2302 1st Pl, Broken Arrow, OK 74012
(918) 451-8213     8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  M - F

Sand Springs Police Department
100 E Broadway, Sand Springs, OK 74063
(918) 245-8777     8 a.m. – 6 p.m.  M - F

Sapulpa Police Department
20 N Walnut, Sapulpa, OK 74066
(918) 227-5100     24 hrs/day

Frequently asked questions:

How do I protect my identity ?  If you are concerned, pour the pills, capsules, tablets, liquids into an unmarked plastic sealable bag.  Seal it completely (no leaking) and transport to collection site.  Throw the empty vials and bottles into your trash.  If you wish to further prevent someone from reading the label, spray paint over the information or use a wide felt tip marking pen that has permanent ink to cover the letters and numbers.

Why can’t I donate my unneeded medicines to a charity clinic ?  Your medicines may have exceeded the expiration date printed on the label, thus it is considered not useable by pharmacist experts. Additionally, medicines should be stored at certain temperatures, humidity, and light levels to prevent changes in the chemicals.  Also, it is possible that someone has tampered with your container.  These possible conditions suggest that the best option is to properly destroy them and not use them.

Why should I take my unneeded medicines to a proper disposal site ?Unfortunately, legal medicines in household medicine cabinets have become poisons unintentionally or choice by the very young, elderly, and some youth.  Over dosage, abuse, or improper use is commonly seen in emergency rooms, and the rates of deaths from the misuse of legal medications in Oklahoma continue to escalate.  Store your medications in a safe and secure location that makes the drug more difficult for children to obtain.  Before these collection programs were developed, evidence that medical chemicals disposed of by flushing in to our eco-system were increasing to unhealthy levels causing The White House, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) to publish national standards for collection and disposal of medications.  Current disposal programs are safe, legal, and remove large quantities of medications from our streams, lakes, sewage systems, and lower the probability of medication misuse.