RFK Jr. Tells America: Don’t Flush Your Pills—Use Take Back Day Instead

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling on Americans to clean out their medicine cabinets the right way, not the watery way, in honor of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 26.

In a video message posted to X, Kennedy urged people to use the free, anonymous drop-off sites set up by the DEA across the country. These spots are open for anyone to safely get rid of unused prescription medications—no questions asked, and no awkward conversations with your pharmacist about those ancient antibiotics you’ve been hoarding ‘just in case.’

Now, for those who think flushing meds is a genius way to keep them out of the wrong hands, Kennedy has a word of warning: once those drugs hit the pipes, they don’t just disappear. They could end up in the water supply, and nobody wants a surprise dose of antibiotics with their morning coffee. "We don’t fully know the effects of low levels of birth control hormones or antibiotics or chemotherapy agents and so on, in the water, but it’s not good," Kennedy explained in his message. Translation: science hasn’t figured out all the weird side effects of accidental pharmaceutical cocktails in our tap water, but it’s probably not a spa treatment.

There are, however, a few exceptions. The FDA actually has a "Flush List" for certain opioid medications like Vicodin, OxyContin, and Percocet, which are considered safe to flush if you can’t get to a drop-off site. But for anything not on that list, the toilet is strictly off-limits—yes, even if you’re in a rush.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day isn’t just about spring cleaning. The DEA says it’s also about cutting down on "medication misuse and opioid addiction before it starts." And those collection stats are wild: last October, Americans turned in a whopping 629,953 pounds—that’s 314 tons—of medications across 4,644 sites. Who knew we were all sitting on enough expired pills to fill a small stadium?

If you miss the big day, don’t panic. There are take-back sites open all year, and the FDA’s got instructions for safely tossing meds, needles, and syringes whenever you need them. So, next time you open your medicine cabinet and find a bottle older than your last haircut, you know what to do.