Walmart Offers New Way To Safely Dispose Of Opioids

Walmart is joining the national fight against opioid addiction, and receiving accolades from Oklahoma’s attorney general.

The chain has partnered with a new company DisposeRX to provide a way to safely dispose of opioids at home. Now anyone with leftover opioids can get a packet of DisposeRX powder for free at any Walmart.

This first-of-its-kind product converts harmful drugs into harmless goop in seconds, and its inventors aim to save both lives and the environment.

“If fully-loaded 747s crashed every other night during the course of a year, that’s how many people are dying, and it’s an issue that must be addressed,” said DisposeRX cofounder Dennis Wiggins.

Attorney General Mike Hunter is excited about this new solution because it allows consumers to safely destroy the old pills in their medicine cabinet, which has been the source of most new addiction.

“That’s the result of, unfortunately, pills being around the house, controlled dangerous substances, Schedule II drugs that ought to be disposed of,” said Hunter.

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To use DisposeRX, your prescription bottle must be less than a third full. Pour room temperature water into the bottle, almost to the top, then add the DisposeRX powder and shake until the pills dissolve.

Walmart pharmacist Jennifer Roberts said, “As a pharmacist I really feel empowered and I’m really proud of Walmart for providing this resource.”

In recent years, Hunter says drug takeback days have been moderately successful, but it takes effort to participate. The DisposeRX option allows you to throw away the drugs at home without contaminating the water supply or allowing a relative to get high.

Hunter hopes to see other pharmacies offering DisposeRX in the near future.

“It cannot all be done by the government,” Wiggins said. “We, as people, have to become empowered and Walmart has done that.”

Walmart will also be handing out DisposeRX with every opioid prescription they fill from now on, along with a brochure with important information about addiction.