Not all prescription bottles can be recycled.  Follow these steps to find out if your bottle is okay.

The advice below assumes the the bottles are clean and dry.

Take unused medication to a MedDrop location or call your pharmacy to see if they accept unused or expired medication.

Empty plastic prescription bottle

Plastic bottles

1. Check the size. Bottles must be at least 3 inches high, or about the size of a standard sticky note. 

    • Bottles shorter than 3 inches should go into the trash.

2. If the lid is plastic, screw the lid onto it before placing it into the recycling. 

    • Loose prescription bottle lids are likely too small for the recycling and should go into the trash)

Plastic prescription bottles should be 3 inches tall to be placed into the recycling cart


Glass Bottles

1. Place into recycling as size does not matter.

2. About lids:

    • If the lid is plastic, it can go into the trash as it is likely too small to be reclaimed.
    • If the lid is metal, to recycle it you should treat it like a bottle cap and place it into a larger metal can and pinch the lid closed.

 

what about the labels?

Just like a bottle of pop, the label doesn't really matter for recycling purposes.

For your own privacy and peace of mind, you can remove the labels or black them out but is not required for recycling.

Questions?

Contact us.