DEA Drug Take Back Day 2026: Held Oct. 24, Year-Round Drop-Off

Updated Sun., Oct. 25, 2026. Take Back Day 2026, Saturday, Oct. 24, has passed. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had not posted collection totals or the date of the spring 2027 event when we checked. Pharmacies and other year-round drop-off sites below still take unused medicines.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held its 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 4,400 collection sites, run with more than 4,300 law enforcement partners, were to take unused and expired prescription medicines for free, the agency said in its Oct. 16 announcement. The goal is to get pills out of home medicine cabinets, where they can be misused, stolen or taken by mistake. Below: what sites accepted, how much past events collected, and what to do now that the day has passed.

When and where was Take Back Day: Saturday, Oct. 24

Collection ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at each participating site. Sites differ from year to year, so the DEA’s event page, not an earlier year’s location, is the place to check for the next one.

What sites accepted, and what they did not

Accepted	Not accepted
Tablets and capsules	Syringes and other sharps
Patches	Illicit drugs
Other forms of prescription medication
Liquid medicines, securely sealed in their original containers

The list comes from the DEA’s announcement for this event. Vaping devices are not on it. In past years the DEA accepted vapes and e-cigarettes only with their lithium-ion batteries removed, and not every site took them, so ask a year-round collector before you bring one. For needles, ask your pharmacy or local health department about a sharps disposal program.

How to find a collection site now

The DEA’s Take Back Day page at dea.gov/takebackday had a search for the sites taking part on Oct. 24. With that day over, use the year-round search below, then check the address and any local notes before you leave.

What past events collected

The 30th Take Back Day, on April 25, 2026, collected 642,410 pounds of medicines at 4,417 sites with 4,306 participating agencies, the DEA reported in May. Since the program started in 2010, it has collected 21,034,225 pounds, or more than 10,500 tons.

Missed Take Back Day? Year-round options

• Pharmacy kiosks and other authorized collectors. Many pharmacies, hospitals and police stations are registered with the DEA to collect medicines every day. The DEA Diversion Control Division keeps a search of year-round disposal locations.
• Household trash. When no take-back option is nearby, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says to take medicines out of their original containers and mix them with something unappealing, such as used coffee grounds, dirt or cat litter. Seal the mix in a bag or container, put it in your household trash, and scratch out your personal information on the empty packaging.
• Flushing. Only medicines on the FDA’s flush list should be flushed, and only when a take-back option is not readily available. Do not flush anything else.

Clean out your medicine cabinet

Our free checklist lists what to bring and what to leave home, has an inventory table for the medicines in your cabinet, and repeats the year-round options. Keep it with our October 2026 printable calendar or a weekly planner. Oct. 24 was also the first day of early voting in Michigan and New York and the night of World Series Game 2; see the World Series 2026 schedule. Other deadlines this season, such as Medicare open enrollment, are in November 2026 important dates.