Cook County Safe Disposal of Pharmaceuticals Ordinance

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Serving Our Community, Protecting the Environment

The Cook County Sheriff’s Prescription Drug Take Back Program is a free service for Cook County residents to collect their unused and expired prescription and nonprescription drugs.

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This free service is provided by authorization of the Cook County Board of Commissioners to reduce access to unused and expired prescription and non-prescription drugs in order to prevent misuse that can lead to poisoning or death.

Please dispose of unused and expired prescription or non-prescription drugs responsibly.

Do not leave them lying around unattended.

Do not throw them in the trash or down the sink.

Do not flush them down the toilet.

Please bring any unused or expired prescription or non-prescription drugs to any one of dozens of collection boxes located in public safety buildings and other locations throughout Cook County.

This free service is not available for use by retail businesses or other companies that handle prescription drugs.

On October 28, 2016, the Cook County Board of Commissioners authorized the Cook County Sheriff’s Prescription Drug Take Back Program to implement a comprehensive pharmaceutical drug collection and disposal program to assist residents throughout Cook County with properly disposing of unused and unexpired prescription drugs. Phase I went into effect on January 23, 2017 with the establishment of a Producer Registry. Under the current phase of implementation a toll-free hotline with information for accessing pharmaceutical drug collection sites has been established for Cook County residents with pre-recorded messages in seven different languages (English, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese and Korean) along with program information displayed on our webpage in the seven languages.

Tips for dropping off your medications:

Always call before dropping off medications. You may want to:

  • Confirm the days and hours of operation

  • Ask if the program accepts controlled and non-controlled substances

  • Ask if the program accepts sharps

  • If planning to drop off medications at a site in a municipality other than where you live, ask if the program is available to non-residents

  • Ask if the program does NOT accept any kinds of medications (e.g., liquids, ointments, cancer treatment drugs, etc.)

  • Ask if there are any other requirements for dropping off medications

Additional tips for dropping off medications:

  • Unless otherwise specified, use original prescription containers and use permanent marker to mark out your name and personal information.

  • Take medications to the collection site ONLY during the drop-off site’s open hours of operation.

  • Please follow direction at the drop-off site carefully. Only give medications to personnel at the drop-off site.

  • These are NOT share or reuse opportunities. All medications received will be destroyed in an environmentally responsible manner.