Q: Is there a place on campus where we can dispose of prescription and over the counter drugs?

This is a great question. It is important that we all dispose of medications properly and do not flush medication down the toilet or throw them in a trash can without taking additional measures.

Due to the legalities of disposing someone else's medications, unless someone is under the care of our nurses, the organization can not assist with the disposal. So for residents living in the households or clients of Home Health, a licensed team member will dispose of any unused medications.

There is not currently a place on campus for independent living residents who do not utilize Home Health to dispose of their prescription and over-the-counter drugs. An options for those of us that need to dispose medications is to take them to the Riley County Law Enforcement Center off of Seth Child Road. They are Manhattan’s local take-back location according to the Kansas Medication Disposal Program. Another option is to crush the medications you want to dispose of and mix them with coffee grounds, or they suggest kitty litter to make the medications unrecognizable before throwing them in the trash.

Thanks for another great question!