The No Drugs Down the Drain program is a public outreach program to alert California residents living in specific regions about the problems associated with flushing unused, unwanted, and expired medications down the toilet or drain and to provide them with other, safe and proper disposal choices. Please remember that it is never acceptable for anyone to flush their medications down the drain, but, as pointed out by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, there is no one disposal solution that applies to all people in all parts of California.

The No Drugs Down the Drain program addresses medications that are coming from residential use (you and me). Residential use is what we do with these substances in our homes, where they could be flushed down a toilet or drain, travel through the sewer system, and enter a wastewater treatment plant.

Another major source of medications entering the wastewater treatment plant is from commercial facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes. However, these commercial facilities are subject to different laws and regulations than private citizens and should use the No Drugs Down the Drain program solely to educate their patients in how to properly dispose of medications from the home. Commercial medical facilities should be aware that waste medications from their facilities may not be discharged to the sewer without prior authorization from the wastewater agency that provides sewerage service for that facility.