The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station will accept unused or expired medication on Thursday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The event, called Drug Takeback Day, provides safe disposal for pills and caplets (no liquids).
“The best way to dispose of your expired, unwanted, or unused medicines is through a drug take back program—or you can do it at home,” according to the United States Food and Drug Administration website.
If you cannot make it to a takeback day, the FDA writes flushing unused medicines or disposing of them in household trash are other options.
Medicines disposed of in household trash should be mixed with “undesirable” trash items such as coffee grounds to make them less desirable for children, pets and scavengers.
Concerns about flushing are largely unfounded, the FDA wrote: “The FDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency take the concerns of flushing certain medicines in the environment seriously. Still, there has been no sign of environmental effects caused by flushing recommended drugs. In fact, the FDA published a paper to assess this concern, finding negligible risk of environmental effects caused by flushing recommended drugs.”
The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station is located at 27050 Agoura Road in Calabasas, 91301.