Medications

Pills, tablets and capsules can be properly disposed through the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office Rx Drug Drop Box Program. Residents can deposit unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs at drop boxes located at law enforcement agencies throughout Cuyahoga County and all four campuses of Cuyahoga Community College. To find a drop off location, visit www.RXdrugdropbox.org  or dial 211. You can also use this website’s geolocation services or choose your community from the green ‘Select a City’ drop-down at the top of the page and click 'See Details.' 

Needles, sharps and syringes are not accepted in the Drop Box. For proper disposal information, see needles and sharps.

Liquid medications are not accepted in the Sheriff's Rx Drop Box Program. Properly dispose of liquid medication by mixing it with something like coffee grounds, cat litter, dirt or sawdust to make it undesirable or unusable. Once the liquid is in unusable state, place it in the regular trash for proper disposal. Do not flush liquid medications into our sewer system or waterways. 

Contact your local police department or law enforcement agency about disposal of e-cigarettes or vaping products.

 

Special Collection Events

Our partners at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District host seasonal Pitch Those Pills collection events at select Discount Drug Mart locations. Pills, capsules, and liquids are accepted for proper disposal. Rx collection events are completed for 2023. 

 

Seasonally, the U.S. DEA holds National Prescription Drug Take Back days to collect unwanted medications. In 2023, events were held April 22 and October 28. Dates for 2024 have not been announced. Learn moreabout the DEA collection events.

 

Hospital and Pharmacy Collections

Cleveland Clinic provides a safe method for disposal of medications that are expired or no longer needed. Cleveland Clinic has 14 drop boxes at its Northeast Ohio locations, including the Children’s Hospital, Euclid Avenue and Taussig Outpatient pharmacies at its main campus in Cleveland. The health system also has drop boxes at its family health centers and regional hospitals. See more about the medication disposal kiosks. Any approved prescription medications are accepted, including aerosols, liquids in sealed containers, tablets, capsules, creams and lotions. Disposal kiosks are available during regular pharmacy hours.

MetroHealth has public drop offs for unused prescription drugs at its Cleveland Heights and Parma medical centers. There are drop boxes located in the emergency rooms at each of those locations. See details.
 

Walgreens offers the Safe Medication Disposal Program. Drop-box receptacles at local Walgreens pharmacies are available during regular pharmacy hours. Locations in Cuyahoga County include:

• Walgreens Cleveland: 4265 State Road
• Walgreens Cleveland: 16803 Lorain Avenue
• Walgreens Euclid: 22401 Lake Shore Boulevard
• Walgreens Lakewood: 11701 Detroit Avenue
• Walgreens Parma: 5400 Pearl Road 

CVS, Rite-Aid and other pharmacies offer drop boxes and mail-back programs for medications. Check at the in-store pharmacy for information.

 

Insulin Donation

Consider donating usable insulin and unused diabetic supplies to Insulin for Life USA. 

 

Disposal of Pill Bottles

Empty over-the-counter (OTC) vitamin and pill bottles can be recycled curbside, as long as they are larger than 2" in diameter. The bottles should be empty, clean and dry before recycling.

Translucent orange prescription bottles can be donated to organizations for reuse. Locally, MedWish International will accept Rx bottles that are empty and clean with labels and adhesives removed. Consider donating to an animal shelter or use a mailback program through Matthew 25 Ministries. Bottles that held prescription medications should be empty, clean and dry before donating. Remove stickers or redact personal information on the bottle before donation or disposal. If prescription bottles cannot be reused, place them in the regular trash. 

Blue and green prescription bottles, typically from a veterinarian's office, should be placed in the regular trash.

 

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Looking to recycle, donate or dispose of other items? Use the dark blue 'What Do I Do With?' search bar at the top of every page of this website. Allow location services or use the city drop-down to find opportunities in your local area.