Walgreens expands safe drug disposal to all pharmacies

DEERFIELD - Walgreens said it is expanding its safe drug disposal program to provide year-round drug disposal options in all of its pharmacies nationwide, at no cost to customers.

All Walgreens pharmacies that do not currently offer a safe medication disposal kiosk now offer DisposeRx packets or other drug disposal options, available upon request for customers, to safely discard unwanted medications at home. When water and the DisposeRx powder are added to unwanted medications in the prescription vial and shaken, the drugs are rendered unavailable and unusable, allowing for the safe disposal at home.

Walgreens set up safe medication disposal kiosks in 1,400 of its pharmacies across 46 states and Washington, D.C., beginning last fall. The company said it led to the safe disposal of more than 1.2 million pounds of unwanted prescriptions, including controlled substances and other medications.

"We recognize the need to provide solutions to dispose of unwanted medications that meet the preferences of all our customers. By combining the availability of a take home drug disposal option with our existing safe medication disposal kiosks, 78 percent of Americans now live within 5 miles of a drug disposal option conveniently available in every Walgreens pharmacy," said Lisa Badgley, Walgreens senior vice president of pharmacy and retail operations.