disposal of pills

  I attempted to ask this question on a Pharmacists forum, but, at $15.00/question....  Then tried to find the appropriate community forum where it would be free.  The closest is this forum.

  After the bypass till after seeing my cardiologists the first or second time I was taking
(written on bottle...)
"Metoprolol Tart 25mg TAB MYL"
"Generic for >Metoprolol TAR 25mg TAB"
(about 25-30 pills left)

About a month ago my GP prescribed
"Amour Thyro 120mg TAB Forest"
(30 pills left)

  Both of these have been replaced by other medications and I have these two bottles of pills left over.  What is the best way to dispose of these?

[cblmn7]

i dump them in the toliet. the water treatment process will destroy the pills effects. but if you have a septic tank

[ireneo]

They used to say dump them in the toilet but no more. The water treatment plant takes out solids and kills germs but does not take out all the chemicals. A lot of treated water simply goes out to the local waterways, not directly back into our kitchen faucets.

When my Dad died (congestive heart failure and cancer) he had many bottles of pills left over. I checked with the pharmacy to see if they had a disposal system. They do not because it's too hard to track all the meds that would pour in.

What's recommended now (and I hope it changes) is to destroy the pills by grinding or melting down with hot water and then mix them with something unpalatable like coffee grounds or used kitty litter. Bag it all and then toss it in the trash. I can see where this would keep people from digging around in the trash for meds but eventually it would work its way into the soil and ground water. Not my idea of terrific.

They're still working on a way to collect and destroy used meds but it's not in effect yet.