How to Dispose of Typhoid Vaccines

Getting Rid of Unused or Expired Vaccines

Give the vaccines to a medical waste disposal company if possible. Place the unused or expired vaccines in a hazardous waste container and turn them over to a medical disposable waste company that is compliant for both infectious and hazardous waste. Ask your medical waste disposal company, the company that disposes of used syringes and other hazardous medical waste, if they will take your unused vaccines. Give them the vaccines when they pick up your other medical waste. Ask your medical waste disposal company if they want you to put the unused vaccines in a sharps container or if you can just give them the vaccines in a box or other container. Disposal companies in different areas may have different methods they use to dispose of vaccines.

Take the vaccines to a drug take back program if you can't use a disposal company. Search online to find a local drug take back program. Take your unused typhoid vaccines to the program’s drop-off site and turn them over to dispose of them properly.Warning: If you have any expired vaccines, remove them immediately from the fridge where they are stored, so they don’t accidentally get administered to a patient. Never use a vaccine that is expired, even if it is just 1 day past the expiration date. You can search online for a drug take back program using terms like “drug take back program Seattle,” if you live in Seattle, for example. These are free services that will take back your unused or expired typhoid vaccines and properly dispose of them.

Return the vaccines to your vaccine supplier if you can’t find a take back site. Call the vaccine’s provider if you can’t find a take back program and ask if they will take your unused or expired vaccines. Schedule a time for your supplier to come pick up your unused vaccines if they will take them back. If your supplier is different from the vaccine’s manufacturer, you might also be able to return the drugs to the manufacturer.

Avoid pouring typhoid vaccines down a drain or flushing them down a toilet. Typhoid vaccines are not on the list of drugs that are OK to flush. Always dispose of your unused and expired typhoid vaccines with an approved drug disposal service. You can find a list of drugs that are OK to flush in the US on the FDA’s website here: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know/drug-disposal-flush-potentially-dangerous-medicine#FlushList

Mix vaccines you can’t get rid of with an inedible substance and throw it out. Pour your unused or expired typhoid vaccines into something like cat litter, dirt, or used coffee grounds and stir it all up to mix the vaccines in. Put the mixture into a sealed plastic bag and put it into your regular garbage to dispose of it. Mixing the drugs with an unpalatable substance will ensure that nobody accidentally ingests the vaccines.

Discarding Empty Vaccine Vials

Put your empty typhoid vaccine vials in the trash if it is permitted in your area. Empty medication vials may be thrown out with regular trash in many areas. Search online for rules and regulations regarding the disposal of empty vaccine vials where you are located to find out if this is permitted.Tip: If you can’t find information online about how you’re allowed to dispose of empty vaccines, you can always call your vaccine provider or immunization program for information. In the United States, for example, you can put empty vaccine vials in your normal trash in all states other than DE, FL, IA, IL, MA, MN, NJ, OR, SC, WVA. To find local rules and regulations online, you can search something like “dispose of empty vaccine vials in Washington State,” if you live in Washington state in the USA, for example.

Place empty vaccine vials in a sharps container if it is required in your area. Put your empty vaccine vials into a sharps container, along with used syringes and other hazardous medical waste, if you are not allowed to dispose of them in the trash in your area. Search online for local rules and regulations if this is not required. For example, the states of DE, FL, IA, IL, MA, MN, NJ, OR, SC, WVA in the United States require that empty vaccine vials be disposed of in a sharps container.

Take the vials to a hazardous waste facility if you can’t get rid of them. Used vaccine vials that may still contain some traces of the vaccine are considered medical waste, so if you can’t throw them in the trash in your area or get rid of them in a sharps container, take them to a hazardous waste disposal site. They will be able to properly dispose of the vials. It is unlikely that you would have to do this, as most areas allow you to dispose of empty vaccine vials in the trash or a sharps container. This is just a backup option that is always safe to use.