Where to Donate Pill Bottles
The Great Donate 2020 is on! Can you donate, gift, or recycle 2,000 items out of your house this year? The average American household has 300,000 items in it- who needs that much? No one, but there are lots of people who could use what you have sitting collecting dust. Check out The Great Donate 2020 for more inspiration and ideas.
We have been cleaning out the corners of our house that get neglected and messy. One of these is our medicine cabinet. It is so cluttered so of course we have doubles, old medication for old ailments, and more than one empty bottle.
Now, I would not recommend ever gifting or rehoming the medication itself. The FDA has pretty complete information on how to dispose of the medication and/or pills(though they do make me hope people only do this once in a long while, because that could be a lot of sealed containers going to waste). They have a lot of good advice, so this is a great resource.
That said, lots of us get pill bottles regularly and that can easily become a lot of waste. But it doesn't have to be!
First, ask your pharmacy if they have any pill recycling programs. If they aren't offering anything yet, ask them why. In my dream world, every pharmacy would have a take back system, so that pill bottles got used over and over again. They are starting up in some areas and chains, but it still isn't expected. The plastic these pills come in can probably only be sterilized so many times, so we need to come up with other viable solutions as well.
Luckily, there are still lots of other options for reusing pill bottles. Just remember before you hand them over to wash them thoroughly and to peel the stickers with your personal information off. Get ready to do some good- let's look at your options!
Matthew 25 Ministries
This amazing ministry will take all of your prescription and over the counter bottles- they use them for transfering medical supplies. In developping countries, medication isn't always packaged safely, and this can be a major health hazard, so this is a major service they are doing. If they can't use the bottles you send (you can even send ones without lids) they shred and recycle them. You can read more about the steps to take to send your bottles correctly on their website. If you are a church-going person, you could also do this with your whole congregation, as an easy outreach project that also protects the environment.
This is their address: Matthew 25: Ministries11060 Kenwood RoadCincinnati, OH 45242
Creative Reuse
As a teacher at Seattle Recreative (a creative reuse space), I have seen pill bottles become robots, binoculars, drums and more. Wash the heck out of your pill bottles (get your personal info off of there) and donate them to creative reuse spaces near you. Your old pill bottles will become someone else's art!
Local Homeless Shelters and Free Clinics
Spaces that help underserved populations like these can often use pill bottles for sorting and distributing medical supplies. It can be an easy drop off, but be sure to call and check this is something they need first. If they have more than they can handle, then you aren't helping.
Local Veterinarians
Pill bottles can also be helpful for animal clinics, shelters, and veterinarian offices. They also have to distribute medication! Check in with the ones near you to see if this could be helpful.
Doesn't it give you the warm fuzzies to know that your garbage can actually be doing so much good for someone else? Want to do more rehoming, regifting, and donating this year? Check out our Great Donate kick off page!
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