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Prescription Pill Bottles Are Recyclable

One prescription pill bottle not placed in the curbside recycling bin won’t make much of a difference but Americans fill about 4 billion prescriptions every year. Couple that with the millions of over the counter medications sold annually and the value of recycling pill bottles is clear.

White Pill Bottles Are Recyclable

The first thing to know about recycling prescription bottles is this: don’t leave medications in the bottle or pour any remaining medications down the drain or toilet. Contact your local pharmacy to find out the most efficient and convenient way to dispose of unused medications. The Drug Enforcement Administration also sponsors National Drug Takeback Day and many local law enforcement agencies have pill drop off sites to allow for proper disposal of prescription medications.

Yellow Pill Bottles Are Recyclable

 After the medications are properly disposed of, recycling the bottle is easy.

County Waste and Recycling, South Cairo, New York, customers can simply place pill bottles in the curbside recycling bin.

When you are ready to recycle an empty pill bottle:

  1. Make sure it’s empty
  2. Remove or block out the label
  3. Remove all paper or packing from the bottle
  4. Screw on the lid or put the lid in the trash (no loose lids)

Prescription medication bottles are made from a variety of recyclable plastics and County Waste accepts plastic bottles and containers #1 through #7 with lids attached.

There are dozens of ideas for crafty folks to reuse pill bottles in craft projects, utility rooms, or the garage, but rest assured that if you properly recycle a plastic prescription pill bottle the byproduct will be reused in home products, carpets, and even some fabrics. And with potentially 4 billion plastic bottles being recycled every year, recycling can make a big difference.

Single Stream Recycling (SSR) by County Waste and Recycling lets you put all your recyclables into one, green-lidded container that rolls right to the curb. Single stream recycling is easy, efficient, and encourages recycling to preserve valuable natural resources and the environment.


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