Pill bottles: those translucent orange soldiers that pile up all around us… in our drawers, cabinets, shelves… sometimes I wonder, if I had saved every empty pill bottle since I got sick could I build a small house by now?
One thing I have always hated the most about being sick, is how you often need more help than you can give back. I’d see those specials on TV and think: I want to build a Habitat for Humanity house or dig wells in Africa with Oprah! (this might be an insomnia induced thought, but the general sentiment still stands).
Okay, so I can’t dig a hole in the blazing African sun. There are still a lot of ways to help others. Like this, this is a project with an idea so simple, it’s brilliant. I’ve tried this myself so I can vouch for how easy it is to do and how good it feels to pass on something that is trash to you, but will be a treasure to others…
Imagine you’ve walked miles to a remote village hospital to receive any form of medical care you can find. You are given the medication you desperately needed and now you have to start the journey back home (often many miles). You don’t shake the pill bottle maraca as you walk because there is no pill bottle, (there was barely medicine). The pills bought in impoverished areas are often bought in huge quantities, in large jars, and doled out (if you’re lucky) wrapped in a tiny scrap of newspaper.
It doesn’t sound like a big deal at first. But the more I thought about it the more I realized: beyond the thought of just getting the medication home, what keeps the meds from swelling up from moisture by day 5? What keeps kids from getting into them? Or their getting lost? Those orange bottles that seem to accumulate so easily for us, can actually do more than you think for others…
How to Help:
Step 1:
When you finish your meds, save the bottle! This includes bottles you might receive over the counter like for Advil, Motrin, vitamin bottles, supplements – as long as the bottles aren’t too (Large bottles just cost too much to ship).
Step 2:
Follow the instructions for preparing the bottles
Step 3:
Throw the bottles in a box or manila envelope, when you have enough of them, mail it off!
The bottles are not wasted in anyway. Once the meds are finished, the families often use the bottles in 100 other ways (just think of how helpful it could be to have a container with a lid that seals). And if the bottle you send isn’t able to be used, it will be recycled.
The New Organization is called:
Matthew 25: Ministries
11060 Kenwood Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Note: I have nothing to do with this organization. They state they are an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization helping the poorest of the poor, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally regardless of race, creed or political persuasion across the US and worldwide. They were cited on many sites throughout my research.
Help Animals! You can also try contacting your local animal shelter, vet or animal organization, a lot of them are happy to receive donated pill bottles!
Ginger Ail 
Oh, no!! Where should I send my pill bottles! All labels are removed and people give me theirs!! Is there an alternative place to send pill bottles??
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Matthew 25 is a ministry that still accepts empty and clean medicine bottles. The address is:
Matthew 25: Ministries
11060 Kenwood Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
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Thanks for the great info. Do you have a trick for getting those labels off? Soaking in washing soda for a few hours has worked for me.
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Someone on another site recommended putting them in the freezer (didn’t say for how long…overnight, maybe?) and then removing the label immediately upon taking them out of the freezer.
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I hadn’t heard of the freezer trick before, I have to try it!
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It totallly works! I’ve done it.
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Thank you so much for your support! 🙂
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Label doesn’t budge after a week in the freezer.
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Man, that would have made life so easy! Bummer!! I find I just rip off what I can and rub a tiny bit of coconut oil on the rest, it comes right off (but be careful, one drop of oil too many and you are slippin and slidin! 😉
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If I ever have tricky labels, I’ve found filling the bottle with really hot water will loosen the glue enough to pull it off, usually in one piece. You may have to refill it 2 or 3 times, depending how “stuck” the label is
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Thank you for this address. I have been collecting bottles and will send them to this address.
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Anyone know of a contact in Australia please
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That’s a great question. I know a lot of the organizations that are accepting them, will happily take them from anywhere. Let me see if I can find a place for you!
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Carol:
I promise I’m still looking. I have heard that some pet places need bottles, I wonder if you could call your animal shelters and see if they need any (in the meantime).
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UPDATE: Malawi Project ended their pill container program in favor of famine relief on December 31, 2015 (from their website).
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You are right. I found another organization that would love the bottles and rewrote the blog to include all the latest information. Thank you for leaving the comment and helping to update it at a time when i wasn’t able to!
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Malawi Project has ended.
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Considering that we are told not to throw old/unwanted pills in the toilet or wash our empty pill bottles due to the medications getting into the watershed and causing issues like hormones causing hermaphrodite, or sterile, fish…I’m not so sure this is a good idea unless you have a way around that.
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You make a great point about what to do with unused pills, definitely do not flush them.
You have several options about how to safely get rid of them.
First put the meds in a sealable plastic bag.
– You can take them to CVS (the pharmacy chain). They have over 1,000 locations that will accept the unused medications and dispose of them properly
– Take medications to an authorized collection location near where you live (hit up Google to find one near you)
– Or place them in a mail-back envelope for delivery to an authorized destruction location.
Thanks for a great question! I hope this helps.
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You can take unused pills in a bag to your or any doctor’s office. That’s what we do, they have a way to dispose of them.
Also, regarding empty pill bottles, just take labels off and clean them or not if your vet cleans them. The vets really love getting them. They are expensive for them to buy to send small quantities of meds home with their clients.
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Are you still doing this??
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I wasn’t the one collecting the bottles, I was just reporting on an organization that was doing it. They stopped, so I found another one that would love to have them. I rewrote the blog and all the info is included in there!
Thanks
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Is Malawi still accepting bottles
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They are not. I did some research and rewrote the blog to include a new organization that is looking for the bottles! Thanks for your interest.
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The original organization listed in my post was no longer accepting medicine bottles. I received such an incredible flood of support from people who really wanted to continue to donate that I did some research and found another place that would LOVE to have your bottles!
I rewrote the blog and all the newest information is included!
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To dispose of unused medications, throw them into the garbage with something good wet, like coffee grounds, or something equally “ soupy”. Never in the disposal or commode!
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That is very true: coffee grounds or kitty litter are suggested. If you have used needles and your medical company won’t set to pick them up, call your fire department. They can tell you where a drop off will be.
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Is this legit? what’s the point? what do they do with the bottles? I’m slightly confused
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They send the bottles to 3rd world countries, where doctors have to hand out.some meds that.they may receive in big bottles. They are used to give to patients so they will not spoil or disengrate.
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That’s a great question. Clinics and hospitals in poor areas are often given pills in huge bottles: maybe 100 of them. When they prescribe 10 pills to someone, where do the pills go? Remember many people have walked many, miles to get to the clinic so they don’t want to risk dropping or damaging such precious cargo.
Plus, afterwards, they use the contains in a 100 different ways: to store things: a seed starter, the list goes on…
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That’s a really lovely thing to say and I appreciate it. I will definitely check yours out too!
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bookmarked!!, I love your blog!
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Thank you! That means a lot!!
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I am a member of American Legion Auxiliary in McCloud, California and we are saving used pill bottles to donate. However, we have had difficulty in finding someone to take them. Is your company one that will accept many bottles so they can be used again? Please advise.
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That is a fantastic project for your group to do! The more and more I learn about it, the more I see the need is so much greater than you think.
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Hi Bobbie, The place I originally posted received so many bottles they shut down. I now found a new place (none of these are my companies to be clear) and they’ve been requesting them for months and haven’t asked us (or anyone) to stop sending them. 🙂
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Hi Bobbie,
It looks like the Internet snatched my answer away as I hit send (sigh 😉 The first place I listed was so filled with response, they needed a break. The place that’s on the site now (neither are my companies btw) has been up for awhile and has yet to say they don’t need anymore!
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Just checking if a legit company and all it will cost is postage to mail it??? Another company wanted us to put a dime, nichel or pennies in each bottle. We are the only Auxiliary in Siskiyou County now. Please respond as soon as you can so we can get started.
Bobbie Zahara Minear
Secretary Cheula92
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I apologize for not replying sooner. I have been dealing with getting hit hard from the Hurricane and haven’t had any internet.
To be honest: I don’t know. Are they asking people to donate if they can, to help with all the shipping or bc a few pennies go a long way in some countries or is it something else.
As soon as I can I will contact some places and see if I can find a really good one to use.
My suggestion is: Only do what you feel good about! If it feels like a scheme, don’t do it. But I love your enthusiasm and wanting to help the cause!
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Hi Gleams!
I’m so excited you found my blog and you are going to book-mark it to return to! I have a whole list of new content coming out in the next few weeks that I am really hoping people will like or find hopeful.
Thanks for the support 🙂
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Mү last blog (wordpress) ᴡɑs hacked and I еnded up losing a few mߋnths
of ard ѡork due to no data backup. Ⅾo yoou hɑve any solutions to sfop hackers?
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Hi, thanks for reading my blog!
That’s a great question about blogs getting hacked.
I’ve been very lucky that my blog has never been hacked. Losing a few months of work is so painful. I know this because I used to share a blog with someone and they took it down and erased all my blogs before I could back them up. (Argh). Now i keep a hard copy of each blog on like Google Drive, so I at least have something. I know it’s not the same but at least you haven’t lost *all that precious work.
I’d contact wordpress immediately (although I’m sure you did). You would think WordPress could simply go back to the last saved copy and restore it. Or at the very least, offer a service that saves a copy in the cloud.
If you haven’t already: also change your password.
I’m sorry I’m not more help.
If anyone knows of any apps or ways to keep this from happening, please jump in!
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I have been really lucky and not had any hackers, no. I would change your password to something really strong and contact WordPress and ask them what you can do about it, they might have suggestions. Sorry you got hacked! 😦
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I have tons!!!! Which is the updated one to send them to?
NOTE: SMITH: I answered you, the answer is just going above your post a little, no idea why. Sorry!
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Hi Smith!
Thanks so much for writing!! I am in the process of contacting places to see the best place to send them. People have been using the one listed in the blog, the Ministries, but other people said some places they have to includes change in the bottles and I’ve never heard of that before. I want a place that is honest, where these will truly be used to help. I’m working on that on.
Will post the info when I get it. (Be patient with me, I am in the midst of Hurricane Ian and lost everything so life has been a little nuts 🙂
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Hey Smith,
I’d just keep collecting them a little longer. There are several charities that have the same name but do NOT have the same intentions. I’m writing the blog to tell everyone where the bottles can go and how and what to do and what else can be donated to. I’m excited about it. I just need a week or two (I got hit pretty hard by Hurricane Ian).
Ginger Ail ~
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Where can we send the empty pill bottles? I just hate throwing out something that is useful! Thanks!!
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Hi Mikki!
I am so glad you asked. I just finished writing a brand new post on this question with lots of great new details. I will be posting it right after one other post first.
I will also be sharing several ways you can earn money for your illness (or charity) without spending money on a single donation! It’s coming!
Ginger Ail ~
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I sent my last box to Matthew 25: Ministries with my return address.
11060 Kenwood Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
I have another box that’ll be filled in a month or two, so I look forward to the latest info. I pay shipping and want nothing in return.
I
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are u still collecting pill bottles?
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I save them and pay someone to take the labels off and ship them when I have a full box. I sure hope the answer is yes!
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