Dealing with expired medications.

PILLS! Awhile ago we did an estate clean out and o boy o boy, the medications and supplement collection was a doozy. I know most people would likely just empty the bathroom cabinets straight into the trash, but we go the extra mile to make sure this medication cocktail doesn't end up in our water and that the paper and plastic can get recycled. Here's what we do:

1. Empty all expired or damaged pharmaceuticals into one bag and supplements into another. The pharmaceuticals will go to my local pharmacy to be properly disposed of. Find your closest safe drug disposal site here. The supplements (anything purely herbal/natural) will go to the city compost facility, Rexius. They can also be put in your yard debris curbside bin if you have one.

2. Separate all the plastics into either curbside recycling, trash. See the updated (new as of July 1, 2025) curbside recycling list for Lane County here. See the Portland list here. In short, any bottle, tub, jug, or jar that is a #2, #4, or #5 larger than 2x2”, and any bottle, tub, jug, or jar that is a clear, not opaque, #1 bigger than 2x2”.

3. Recycle paper. Trash anything else.

4. Anything that is new or not expired, I donate if I can or I post to my local Buy Nothing Facebook group. (Not prescription meds, though! Just supplements and over the counter)

How do I avoid all this work?? Go through your medicine cabinet regularly! Check the dates, and hope you don't find anything from 1997... or do because the bottles are cool. Talk to your elders about buying supplements online or from infomercials. Talk to yourself about if you'll really use it or if you're following a consumerist impulse. It's easy to want to try anything and everything to feel better, but I see so much of that stuff go to waste. 💊💊💊💊💊💊