Help, My Life, Tips & Tricks

Empty Pill Bottles Desperately Needed (Take your meds & help others!)

Ginger Ail

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?
Mountains of Pill Bottles
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!

681 thoughts on “Empty Pill Bottles Desperately Needed (Take your meds & help others!)”

  1. What a great idea. We have a local Health Net that provides care for people without insurance and they also collect med bottles and unused prescriptions. I have 20-some Rx’s a month.

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    1. I’d love to donate my unused, unopened asthma medication but was told by several pharmacies that that was not allowed! Please PM on Facebook and let me know where I can send them! Thanks, Myung McClure

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      1. I give my empty pill bottles to vet clinics and animal shelters. Some can use them. Some cant. They will tell u if they take them. They use for meds for animals.

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      1. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to mail or give away prescriptions. Not only is it overwhelmingly illegal, your attempt will likely have you reported to ATF/etc authorities and you could be arrested immediately, especially since they’ll have your return address, and packages can’t be mailed without one. They’re prescriptions for a reason, and you could literally kill a person, which is the total opposite of this project. Do not ever, ever, mail prescriptions anywhere. EVER.

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        2. I like to think your response is based on lack of reading and auto presumptions you know everything but in reality is not pertaining to the request at hand.

          They are asking for EMPTY ORANGE PILL BOTTLES! And not prescribed meds, expired or not. Anyone with a brain, even a just a sense, would know you don’t send out to anyone. Unless your unscrupulous.

          Individuals like you gives me a headache. No one will remember all that you say, so why bother. Geez, this over some orange pill bottles.

          No worries, I have 10 at home to send you!

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          1. So, this project continues?? I have some to send but wanted to make sure they are still needed, and the address is still correct.

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          2. While I agree it is a bad idea to send medicine, the people asking obviously had good intentions. One of the most needed medicines in this society is a bit of compassion and patience. It is easy to get frustrated but keep perspective.

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    5. Since they are no longer collecting pill bottles for Malawi could you give me the information where to send the ones I already have saved and I can continue to do so for your organization.
      Thanks for your time,
      Sue Warner

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  2. I have bags of them, but i dont have the money to send all of them, I have been saving them but the friend I had to send them out passed away, so i am stuck with lots of them, i would say close to 150 empty bottles and it would take a box to send them and money is tight with only having disability, so I dont know what to do…???

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    2. Maybe you could take them to a nearby church. Many churches have missionary trips or know of other churches that have those trips and they could take them with them.

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    3. I know several churches who collect them and use them for “prescription of the day”. They put a bible verse in them and hand them out. I like this idea better. Its a safe secure way for people to carry their meds.

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    7. Danene, I would check with a local non profit in your area. We collect them and send take them locally to Matthew 25 Ministries. We also take them to the free pharmacy of our St. Vincent de Paul. Check with a church nearby. They may already be sending them somewhere and you could just drop them off.

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  4. Hello, I work for the largest vial company in the world. We do the vials for Walgreens, Rite Aid, Kroger, etc. two things of not from this. One, please add that everyone wash out the vials. There is often times pill residue and it could go to someone allergic to that drug so please wash out all residue. Second, the vials in the U.S. Are hardly ever recycled for this same reason. You can’t introduce drug residue into something that can be consumed. Occasionally it is used for such things as deck filler. Your idea is a good one and I will pass this along to all my peers in the industry.

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  5. That manila envelope is likely to wind up at its destination with a lot of smashed or cracked bottles. I recommend bubble-wrap or a small flat box with some padding. International mail can be sent in big, heavy canvas bags and that means your package will be thrown around and have heavy stuff dumped on it.

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  6. I have hundreds. I mean it (not real sure why I have kept them, but they are from the past 18 mos or so).
    Is anyone in IN willing to help out with my label removal?

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    2. i boiled mine and removed the labels .. they came right off but they are all sticky is there something they want me to do with them to get rid of the sticky gue? or should i just send them like this

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      3. It sounds crazy, but peanut butter actually works wonders for taking the sticky residue off. Just slather it on and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Wipe it all off with a paper towel…no more sticky.

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  10. I have saving these containers as to repurpose them for crafting materials, etc. I haven’t made that effort and just keep saving the pill containers for years now. I am so grateful to my FB friend for posting your website and you good work. I have a large box going in the mail today. Good luck with your efforts. I’ll keep you in mind for future recycling of these cylinders.

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  11. Hello,

    My teenage son and I would like to get involved and help with this cause. We plan to possibly make this a project for him for high school and get classmates involved.
    Can you send me more information?

    Thank you!

    Sharon Martino, RN

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  13. Well shoot. I just packaged up a bunch of pill bottles to send. My husband just took a black marker and marked off the information on the bottles. Can they be sent this way or should we open the box and remove the labels? I know this sounds like a dumb question, just asking. Happy we have a place to send them where they are needed. More to come! Thanks for the information.

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    1. you must remove all labeling; do not “black marker” them – they won’t be accepted. I close to 100 ready to go but can’t afford mailing them; i’m trying to find a place near me to unload them. I live in Florida; Beverly Hills, Florida, near Crystal River, Homosassa and Inverness. If anyone knows where I can take my empty bottles, please email me at kayakingkit@yahoo.com Thank you, LB

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  14. I am a nurse, how could I not help, I have pill bottles around me all the time plus other bottles for other medical stuff , I am going to start collecting, and sending them, I just hope this is a true genuine, project to help others. And that the bottles don’t end up just stored away somewhere and thrown out in the end. This is a brilliant projects I hope more country’s will also be added to the project. Best of luck and keep the good work moving forward. Nurse Lisa.

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  15. Pingback: Empty Pill Bottles Desperately Needed (Take your meds & help others!) | debraraybrowning

  16. I just last week threw out over 100 bottles that I saved thinking they could be recycled somehow. I now have a mission as to what to do with them. Thank you I will resume my collecting
    Susan

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  17. In Malawi, where people know not to be wasteful, they will probably hold onto those bottles and take them back with them, to be filled the next time they need some medicine.
    If only we could be so wise and conserving.

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    1. Years ago we did take our prescription bottles back to the pharmacy to be refilled. I’m sure for infection control reasons that isn’t allowed anymore.

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  18. If you contact me by phone to verify the the honesty of this I will gladly help I wanna contact information phone number I’ve been burnt collecting soda caps for different organizations and it cost me 250 box to get rid of soda caps that I collected that was supposed to help chemo patients if you comment back on this post is a valid email address with the phone number I will call and definitely help

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    1. I have asked the same question and have not gotten a reply from anyone . However after researching the article and following the leads on the internet I have decided to try it and hope . If you get a response from someone in charge of this program please post it . Thank You .

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  19. I would be willing to ask my doctor, who I see once a month, if I could put a collection box with an explaination, to collect bottles. I think he might go for that. I would even consider making a small financial donation that would cover the cost of forwarding the bottles I collect.

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  20. What about drug allergies ? Cross contamination? I wouldn’t want to send bottles that have contained chemotherapy. I had to wear gloves, to give the pill to my child. I think this is is a great idea, just more thought needs to go into it.

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  23. Pingback: Great use for used medicine bottles | randomblog 2014 and beyond

  25. Please confirm mailing address. I would like to mail my empty orange Rx plastic containers to you. I am on meds for my RA. I always take the label off before disposing the orange container. Have asked co-workers if they had need for them – 99% of the time they have no need or use for them.
    I would be more than happy to send to y’all!

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  28. I teach 2nd grade in a small town in Florida. I am planning on getting my students involved in this. I may even share with the whole school. It would be a great way to teach our students to help others in need. Thanks for sharing.

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  30. Even if the medicine bottle isn’t being recycled after it’s donated, how many people are just throwing them in the trash anyway instead of recycling? Just donating a medicine bottle is a form of recycling within itself.

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  32. I am a diabetic. my test strips come in great little bottles would they be accepted they don’t twist on or off they just snap shut

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  33. Two boxes of empty bottles are on their way! I have been saving these for a few years just waiting for somebody to “need” them! I guess if you wait long enough! Glad they will be put to use, they seem just “too good” to throw away!

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  34. I am an ex-ICU nurse who was almost poisoned to the death with polypropylene. These wonderful yellow-orange donations you speak of are made from polypropylene (#5). MUST STATE WHAT A HORRIBLE IDEA THIS IS. I HOPE THESE WILL NOT BE USED ANYWHERE NEAR HUMAN LIFE, THE HOMES OR THOSE WONDERFUL WELLS YOU PLAN ON BUILDING. Unless your plan is to wipe out civilization there. http://www.toxicswatch.org/2008/11/toxic-leaching-from-polypropylene.html PLEASE do your own research. Polypropylene is toxic garbage and should NOT be used near any life forms.

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  36. What a wonderful way to reuse old medicine bottles! One tip, please DON’T put plastic anything in boiling water. The ingredients in plastic can leach into the water simply by being in a hot environment; I strongly suspect boiling water readily releases some toxic ingredients that might be endocrine disruptors. Soaking the bottles in a pan of warm water overnight might be enough. If labels are stubborn, a little cooking oil might be the solution to removing them. And thanks for all the comments about other ways to use empties!

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  37. Will you get to the point where you have too many? I’m starting a collection from a yoga group at a retirement community. There will probably be a lot. They want to publicize and I wanted to make sure the efforts won’t go to waste.

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  39. Great idea!

    A more thorough answer to the recycling concerned: Reusing a product is ALWAYS superior to recycling. It requires less energy. Imagine the alternative: a charity that collects pill bottles, breaks them down into their components (in a factory, that runs on fossil fuels), and makes them in to new pill bottles. Or, we can just skip all that energy usage, and keep them as pill bottles in the first place. That’s why it comes first in the phrase: Reduce, reuse, recycle. Worrying about whether or not a product is recycled after it is reused is like worrying about if a product is recycled after it is recycled. Actually, you should be more worried about the later!

    Of course, I cannot give this answer without noting for a moment that this isn’t even the most important reason. The chance to save a life (or heal a sickness) should always trump recycling. After all, why do we recycle? To keep the earth a place suitable for life. Surely a bottle filled with medicine can do more to save a life than an empty bottle discarded can take away.

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  40. I would contact the many hospice organizations around the country. Having worked over three years with Skirball Hospice I discarded hundreds of prescription drugs and containers. This would be something positive to offer. Great idea.

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  42. What about the containers for diabetes test strips? I have dozens of these – they are sturdy, have attached caps, are waterproof. The only thing is that they are not orange or translucent, but opaque white.

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  46. Pingback: The best (free) medical app: track all your meds with no effort, no typing, no cost! | ginger ail
  47. Pingback: Empty Pill Bottles Desperately Needed (Take your meds & help others!) | Blood and Lather

  49. i have wondered what to do with mine i had so many i finally gave them to my daughter and her kindergarten son brought them to school. but now hes in upper grades i didnt have a clue of what to do with them. now im a happy camper thank you i will send as many as i can…great idea

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  50. Not only will the pill bottles be used but the medication themselves would be used by Dr. and Nurses that go to places yearly like Haiti, on mission trips and take unused “labeled” medication to treat the poor! The size of the bottles compared to the size or amount of medications is ridiculous! I save the bottles then rip the labels off all at one time and I seriously look like someone is dying from a dreadful disease, it makes me sick to know that I’m throwing all of this into the trash wondering if the recycling company is going recycle or toss them in the landfills. Thank you for this information. It not only helps others but it also helps the earth.

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