Recycling for Charity: medicine, pill and vitamin bottles
This page lists charities and other organisations collecting empty plastic pill, vitamin and medicine bottles.
If any details are incorrect or you know of any other groups collecting them, please leave a comment below and I’ll update the listings.
- For ways to reuse the bottles instead, check out our post: “how can I reuse or recycle plastic pill and vitamin bottles?“
| Who wants it | Why | Country | Contact details |
| No one at the moment | If you’re a charity or organisation that collects old medicine or pill bottles, please leave your details below. |
- Find out how to recycle other things for charity with the Recycle This Recycling for Charity Directory
I have been throwing away my rx bottles and wonder if there is a place in Kentucky where I can send them or some other place. I could get those in my family and also at Church to start saving them if there is a place to send them. Please let me know if anyone knows of a place. Thanks
Please if you have pill bottles to donate, check with the local medical clinics in your area. Free clinics, social welfare clinics, whatever clinics are around you that assist with medical needs for the poor, they are usually always in need of used med bottles as it helps with their budgets. New pill bottles are actually not very cheap to buy wholesale, and some places need every last penny they have to secure the meds that they dispense. Some clinics even accept donations of leftover meds that are not expired and are non narcotic. But if you can’t find a clinic in your area that wants them you can send them to me and I will gladly donate them to my local Social Welfare Clinic with my empties, as they truly appreciate the donations. My email is officer1044@yahoo.com if you have any questions or wish for my mailing address. Thanks.
Do all the labels need to be removed? I have 100s of bottles.
Hi. I live in Fairfax, Virginia. Is there any places NEAR me where I can drop off empty and cleaned pill bottles?
is there an email for deirdre at amvets? wanting to make sure this is still current before i go shipping my family’s hoard of empty pill bottles.
I would like an email address or even better a phone number for Deirdre. I have a school that wants to collect medicine bottles to donate to empoverished countries but I’m not sending all the bottles if they are not accepting them.
I need an address to send RX bottles for the needy
Hi
If you find someone or an organization that still wants empty pill boxes please let me know
Ann
Can we still recycle medicine/prescription bottles (with the labels removed!). Before I do that, I want to know if AMVETS (listed here)is still taking them. Thanks!
No, AMVETS Post 208 is NOT collecting pill bottles. I received an email from a Leon Proctor with MA AMVETS and he said NO.
The organization that was collecting pill bottles didn’t realize the power of the web…They ended up with truckloads of empty pill bottles…Many people are still saving them…If you want to get rid of them…Pill bottles are recyclable, You should put them in your recycle bin and not with regular trash. If your community doesn’t recycle, Find somewhere local that will take them.
We NEED empty prescription bottle so badly, we would take a truck load! We use these to take large portions of toiletries and decent them into smaller amounts to help more people in need. Please if you are in Arizona – send your bottles our way! http://www.icmaz.org
Many local recycling programs do not accept 5-plastics. The 5 is in a triangular shape, usually on the bottom of the container. If your recycling program doesn’t accept 5’s, try the bin at Whole Foods. For pills, some veterinarians accept them but I have not met with success in this area. Don’t throw the 5’s away in the garbage – there are drop off sites available. Be kind to the earth. Repair, reuse, recycle. Thank you.
Where?!
I just received a message stating that this information IS still current. AMVET Ladies Auxiliary is still taking used medication bottles. I had previously contacted them and was told that they were no longer doing it, but I think it was a miscommunication since it’s just the Ladies Auxiliary doing it.
Thank you for this!
Is there a place to drop off the bottles I am in Queen NY
thanks
I have prescription bottles that I would like to donate. Please tell me the address where they can be sent. Thank you.
would like to donate bottles that will be used for help, not fun
Are you still collecting pill bottles? I have a box of them from our senior center.
sarasin48@gmail.com
Thanks!
The missionaries at my church, Johnston Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church, have been collecting medicine bottles with the intent to donate. We will mail the bottles if you can provide an address. Please advise.
I will gladly forward clean of label prescription bottles to any address given to me.
I have a grocery bag of empty prescription bottles of various sizes that I would prefer to donate if possible. If there are any organizations out there that can use these, please let me know.
Thank you!
They are still collecting the prescription bottles and will continue to do so until further notice. They will be putting the information on the AMVET Facebook page.
I do have many empty medicine bottles I am with the American Legion Auxiliary we have been collecting them for the 4 months where can I send them ? You can email me at vgimla@yahoo .com we are in Florence , S.C.
The Malawi Project
You mail them to Indianapolis, IN and they take them to Malawi in southeast Africa.
Mail to:
The Malawi Project
3314 Van Tassel Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46240
Hope this helps!
The Malawi Project is NO LONGER ACCEPTING EMPTY PILL BOTTLES. They received over a million bottles and decided to stop asking for them.
Malawi Project says they don’t want any more
Thanks to an unimaginable outpouring of support the Malawi Project received over 2 1/2 million pill containers. This program ended on December 31, 2015 and the Project is no longer accepting, processing or shipping pill containers to Africa.
Attention has been turned to provided funds for famine relief as the nation is experiencing a severe famine. More details at: http://www.malawiproject.org
I just sent some there a few weeks ago and received a notification that they are not collecting them anymore.
They are no longer accepting them!
Peel the labels off and send your pill bottles to an international outreach program, such as Matthew 25: Ministries or Samaritan’s Purse (the latter of whom are looking for everything from hospital gowns to lightly used defibrillators, in addition to medicine bottles).
Contact an animal hospital or ASPCA near you to see if they could use some pill bottles stock for pet medicines. (And remind me to tell you that story sometime about my chinchilla’s morphine addiction.)
Reach out to your local community health center or homeless shelter to find out if they’re accepting donations. Because as cool as it is to think of your used medicine bottles making a difference all the way across the world, you might have neighbors who could use the help as well.
Would like more info from Samaritan’s Purse collecting empty med bottles
I have been saving prescription bottles for a few months since I saw an article on Facebook. I live in Los Angeles, CA. is there a place here where I can donate them, if not where can I send them?
Is there some place to drop off empty pill boat in Smithfield NC if so please let me know thank you Kelly t
Our Junior Girl Scout troop started collecting Pill Bottles for Malawi Project and I just came to know that they will not be needing them!
We are troop from North VA, where is the best place to drop off for AMVETS or other organizations that of use of empty pill bottles.
thanks
Shaila G
we need pill bottles for a rund raiser
I’ve got a ton of bottles . . . was too late to send to Malawi project
I have a bunch, let me know where I can send them to.
I just dropped off all my medicine bottles and #5 plastics at Whole Foods (bins are by the door, usually). It may not help a charity but it helps the environment. It’s an option…
What Whole Foods — I use the one in St. Paul, MN — Whole Foods, I believe, then sends them on to a recycling facility in Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana (I think it’s Indiana) — Mrs. Lynn Jensen, North St. Paul, MN
I have a box of empty prescription bottles, some with safety lids, some not. I had originally started saving them to send to Malawi, but as we’ve all found out, they no longer need them. If you need mine or know of some place that does, please contact me. My email addy is backcreekvalleyyorkies@hotmail.com Be very careful with the spelling or better yet, copy & paste. Thanks!
Deb W in WV
We have been saving empty pill bottles to send to the Malawi Project and would like to send them to you. Could you provide us your address? Thank you very much.
Hello, I just read that the Malawi Project no longer wants empty pill bottles. Is there anywhere else I can send my bottles?
Hi, Mary — what kind of fundraiser — I have a super amount of the all orange clean prescription bottles that I was going to drop of at our Whole Foods in St. Paul, MN — if your cause can use them, please tell me how many you need and where to send them — I’m guessing 200 – 300 bottles — Mrs. Lynn Jensen, North St. Paul, MN
Hi I could definitely use empty medicene bottles. I make up fishing kits, sewing kits for operation Christmas child to be packed in shoeboxes. We also make tic tac toe games and put in boxes. If you still have them I would appreciate receiving them.
Angie
I can send u my address if u still have them
Thank you
I have a small box of medication bottles that I would love to donate. Are you still in need? Let me know and I’ll mail them. Thanks, tina @grahamafone@sbcglobal.net
Angie, if you still need empty bottles for Operation Christmas Child, please email me at boscojane925@gmail.com THANK YOU
Anonymous says:
June 15, 2016 at 10:09 pm
I would like to get in touch with the person who posted the information about needing pill bottles for fishing and sewing kits for Operation Christmas Child. I have pill bottles I can send you if you can send me your information. My e-mail address is anjalina@cox.net.
“Hi I could definitely use empty medicene bottles. I make up fishing kits, sewing kits for operation Christmas child to be packed in shoeboxes. We also make tic tac toe games and put in boxes. If you still have them I would appreciate receiving them.
Angie
I can send u my address if u still have them
Thank you
Angie”
I have a collection of prescription bottles and want to know if you can use them.
I have a large box of prescription bottles I planned to send to the Malawi Project. I just learned they are not accepting them any more. Does anyone know where I can bring or send them? I live near Richmond, VA
Typically pharmacies will take the bottles back. I’m not sure if they recycle them or sterilize and re-use, but it’s worth asking. In some municipal recycling programs the little bottles and lids are too small and can’t be baled up with the other plastics so just fall through and go to the garbage.
I use many pills every month. When does your fund raiser end? I can send you pill bottles if you still need them. contact me at rajahraus@hotmail,com
Email me address I will send bottles to you. Thank you. Janet
Hi, Mary — what kind of fundraiser? And where would you like the bottles mailed?
Please send me an address I will so I can send you my empty prescription bottles.
My parents have both passed and I have so many empty pill bottles that can be reused. I understand that the Malawi Project no longer needs these. If you know of an organization that could use them I would need an address as to where to mail them. Thank you kindly!
Please consider the Matthew 25 Ministries or the Gimme 5 website.
Both accept RX bottles.
Thank you for recycling
Deb
Do you still need pill bottles for your fundraiser. If so, please include your mailing address so I can send them. We had been collecting and mailing them in to the Malawi project and have some ready to go.
Thank you, Julie
Can anyone on this site tell all of us a valid and current mailing address to which we can send clean, unlabeled orange / white cap prescription bottles — it seems that ere are many of us who desperately want to help some needy and worthy project, but since the Malawi, Africa Project is no longer accepting bottles, none of us know what to do anymore — thank you. Mrs. Lynn Jensen, North St. Paul, MN
I called and you can send your empty medicine bottles to:
Matthew 25 Ministries
11060 Kenwood Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Karen,
Is there a phone number or email address for the Matthew 25 Ministries? The person handling this project wants to check for herself before she mails them out. Please don’t take this personally, it’s just how she is.
Thank you,
Cheri Rinkevich
I just phoned them recently and they want them with a donation.
would you send me info about this ministry and med bottles
It looks like this ministry still takes bottles. Check it out at: http://m25m.org/pillbottles/
I just called Matthew 25 Ministries and they DO take pill bottles !!
My local Social Welfare Clinic is always in need of donations. They use the donated bottles to dispense meds to the poor and the homeless people in the area. They have an onsite pharmacy, but the cost of the meds stretches their budget as far as it can go. Most of the doctors are Nurse Practioners and the actual Doctors donate their time and recieve no pay. So the cost of pill bottles is just too much for their budget, they need donations to keep providing necessary medications to those who otherwise would just suffer and possibly die because they can’t afford to go to a doctor. If you need any more info please contact me at officer1044@yahoo.com. Or if you just wish to donate your pill bottles to the clinic, you can send them to
2314 Olive
St. Joseph, MO 64507-1509
Do you still need pill bottles for your fund raiser? Please send me an email with mailing info. My brother’s church started saving them, but no one has followed up with what to do with them or where to send them, so I volunteered.
Thank you,
Cheri Rinkevich
This is the website for Matthew 25 Minitries, related to donation of pill bottles. I hope it helps you all!
http://m25m.org/pillbottles/
Not my info but found online… Bread of Healing Clinic
The Bread of Healing Clinic (breadofhealing.org) began as a ministry of Cross Lutheran Church, established with the support of community partners (UW-Madison Medical School, Aurora Health Care, other local churches). It continues now as a separately incorporated organization, holding clinics at Cross Lutheran Church and Eastbrook Church. They provide:
High-quality medical care for people with chronic illnesses, who are working but are without access to health insurance. The clinic dispenses only a few pills at a time so that patients come back to be monitored and then receive more medication.
Education for patients and for volunteers to learn more about the treatment of chronic illnesses in patients who most often experience disparities in care.
Opportunities to experience, request, and offer healing for all of us (patient, provider, volunteer).
Health care for patients in between health insurance coverages.
ITEMS COLLECTED:
Empty prescription bottles (please completely remove the labels and the adhesive left on the bottles, and wash out the bottles so there’s no danger of mixing the residue of your medication with a new medication)
I called and Bread of Healing Clinic does
not need any bottles
Are you still collecting prescription bottles? I have a lot of them collected by 2 churches. I can send them out right away. My phone number is 989-316-2490
I also had been saving pill bottles for the Malawi Project, which is no longer accepting them (they received over a million!). After some research, it turns out that the sorting machinery used by most municipal recycling programs can’t handle the bottles due to their size. I had the thought that maybe if the large chain pharmacies (CVS, RiteAid, Walgreen’s, etc) started receiving thousands of these bottles in the mail, it might encourage them to make recycling the bottles more of a priority. If the Malawi Project received a million bottles, consider the unbelievable amount of these bottles that end up in our landfills! Seems like there should be a reasonable solution available.
http://www.malawiproject.org/empty-medicine-bottle-request-brings-unimaginable-response/
Lisa, you will be interested to know that even after we stopped them they continued to come in. We can no longer send them to Malawi, but have been inundated with over 2 1/2 million pill containers. Dick Stephens, co-Founder Malawi Project – http://www.malawiproject.org
Lisa D.
I have been saving my bottles for a year now. I too asked the major retail pharmacies if they collected the bottles and sadly they don’t. I’d like to join you (if you’re interested) in starting some kind of campaign to encourage the major pharmacies to recycle. I agree that they should not end up in landfills. Please feel free to email me if you’re interested.
Matthew 25 Ministries Empty Pill Bottle Recycling
Matthew25Ministries
In developing countries, medicines—when actually obtainable—are often dispensed into hands, pockets, leaves or any other available container.
Matthew 25 Ministries accepts donations of basic medical supplies such as empty pill bottles to help improve health care quality in developing nations. Donations of clean, unlabeled pill bottles help the poorest of the poor in many ways: Medicine can be distributed in sterile containers. Pill bottles that are not appropriate for shipping are recycled for cash that goes towards Matthew 25:Ministries’ programs.
This plastic recycling program keeps thousands of bottles out of landfills each year. Placing a nickel, dime or quarter in each pill bottle helps with shipping costs to send the bottles to developing countries.
Matthew 25: Ministries accepts the following types of empty pill bottles:
Prescription pill bottles
Large and small pill bottles
Pill bottles with and without child resistant caps
Over-the-counter pill bottles.
Get more information at the Matthew 25 Ministries website M25M.ORG
SEND YOUR PILL BOTTLES TO:
Matthew 25 Ministries
11060 Kenwood Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
You can help improve the quality of health care in hospitals and health clinics in developing countries by saving and donating basic medical supplies such as pill bottles.
I know, you can turn them into mini first – aid necklaces. Like for cub scouts and girl scouts. Also, they can be used for cups when you are traveling
Your advice is extremely helpful
Anyone still have empty medicene bottles. I use them for sewing and fishing kits for OCC shoeboxes.
Thanks
Reply to
Papa.ml65@gmail.com
I have hundreds of pill bottles. I am looking to donate to someone that can really make good use of them. Please advise. Thanks Debora Farnsworth
Try giving them to local animal shelters. they can use them for medicine for sick animals that fo to foster homes
I found this as a way to recycle pill bottles.
Not my website but good info-
Mail them to:
The Malawi Project, Inc
3314 Van Tassel Drive
Indianapolis, IN
46240
Here is another contact website:
http://malawiproject.org/medicine-bottles-for-malawi/