How to Recycle Pill Bottles

If you’ve ever gotten sick, chances are you’ve had a prescription before (like antibiotics). Most pills come in virgin plastic containers. Americans use ~194 billion prescriptions a year. Sadly, most of those containers end up in landfills. But are pill bottles recyclable via curbside recycling? Or do they require special treatment? Here’s what you need to know and how to properly recycle pill bottles.

How to Recycle Pill Bottles

What do I do with an empty pill bottle?

If you have an empty pill bottle, you can recycle it – but probably not via curbside recycling programs. Instead, you can find take-back or drop-off programs that will recycle pill bottles (and medication – more on that later).

Amber-colored prescription bottles are generally made from PP#5 and their white lids are made from HDPE #2. There are two issues with these bottles: The first is many recycling programs don’t accept PP. The other issue is that some of these bottles are too small for recycling machinery.

Be sure to check your local recycling laws first before adding anything to the bin, as these vary from state to state (sometimes even town to town). If your recycling program accepts all rigid plastics, make sure to empty the pill bottle, keep the lid on, and remove the label if you can.

But never flush medications down the drain. This can contaminate water supplies and lead to pollution.

Pill bottle recycling solutions:

Some pharmacies and grocery stores have drop-off programs for prescription bottles, sometimes in collaboration with drug-disposal programs. I’ve seen these big mailbox-looking containers in places like RiteAid, CVS, and Walgreens that accept medical waste (more on that below).

Check out Recycle Nation to learn what to do with medical waste in your zip code. Here’s what the medical waste guidelines are for NYC.

If your curbside recycling program can’t process prescription bottles and you can’t access a take-back program, consider reusing them. Pill bottles can be reused for sorting small objects (nails in a toolbox, seeds, paper clips, and/or pins). Or maybe even Halloween decor if you’re going for spooky hospital vibes (fill ’em with small hard candies!).

Another option is to consider donating empty pill bottles to Matthew 25: Ministries. They accept clean, empty, recapped, label and residue-free pill bottles (both large and small). These pill bottles help improve medical care in developing countries through repurposing.

Common Q + A

Here are some related questions people ask in regards to recycling their pill bottles. I hope these answers help you make more informed decisions!

Can I return empty pill bottles to Walgreens?

Walgreens has a safe medical disposal kiosk you can return old, unwanted or unfinished medications to. However, there isn’t much on their website regarding empty pill bottles. You may want to call and ask the Walgreens’ pharmacy nearest you to see if they accept empty pill bottles.

Here’s what Walgreens safe disposal accepts:

• Prescription medications, ointments and patches
• OTC medications, ointments, lotions and liquids
• Pet medications
• Vitamins
• Aerosol cans
• Inhalers

Not accepted:

• Needles and thermometers
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Illegal drugs

Will CVS take empty pill bottles?

CVS has no information on their website regarding accepting empty pill bottles. You can call and ask your local CVS pharmacy what their policy is regarding this.

However, CVS has introduced safe medication disposal kiosks in over 3,000 locations nationwide that allow you to safely dispose of your medications. According to CVS, they accept prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and liquid medications.

But there are some exceptions. Items not allowed:

• Illegal drugs
• Needles, syringes or sharps containers
• Medical devices and batteries
• Aerosol canes and inhalers
• Chemicals and mercury-containing devices

These kiosks will be located near the pharmacy and monitored by pharmacists.

So, will you be recycling or upcycling your old pill bottles? Let me know in the comments!

For more recycling tips, here’s what you can and cannot recycle in NYC.

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