As you’ll recall I wrote last week about recycling and reusing prescription bottles, in response to a reader question about the same topic. Some of the folks that I’d interviewed for that blog posting–and people who commented after the fact–talked about reusing their prescription bottles by literally reusing them for prescriptions. That is, they brought them back to their pharmacy so that the pharmacist could refill a prescription without wasting a brand-new bottle.

I wasn’t sure if this was kosher with all pharmacies, and it turns out I was right. While some of you may be successful in this reusing option, chances are that if you try this at a national pharmacy, you’ll be turned away. In fact, here’s an edited response (I edited it) from Mike DeAngelis, director, public relations for CVS/pharmacy as to why the company prefers to use bottles one time only:

* Chance for cross-contamination
There is a risk of a new medication being placed in a used bottle and then becoming adulterated, “as we have no way of knowing in what conditions the bottle was stored in the customer’s home or what may have been placed in the bottle after the medication was used,” says DeAngelis.

* Chance that child-safety cap become ineffective
The child-resistant capability of the bottle and cap becomes reduced over time through multiple uses. I had no idea that twist and turning this cap on and off on the same bottle would lessen its effectiveness, therefore putting children at risk should they come across your prescription in a reused bottle. (I guess the company could supply a replacement cap instead. I wonder if they would if you asked?)

* Label might not be clear
“Affixing new prescription labels over older ones is not as effective of applying it directly to the bottle,” he says, “and may cause the patient to lose track of the number of available refills.” In addition, if you’ve ever tried to tape something over another thing that’s already been labeled, you know that there is the chance that the secondary (or tertiary or more) label will peel up and fall off.

* Mix ups are possible
Since different manufacturers make generic versions of the same drug, says DeAngelis, “a medication should not be placed in a container that previously held a different product.” To be honest, I’m not sure why this could be a problem unless it’s because the label might not accurately reflect which manufacturer’s drug is inside the bottle.

* The law might not be on your side
DeAngelis says that “several State Boards of Pharmacy expressly prohibit pharmacies from re-using prescription bottles,” though my state, Pennsylvania, does allow for prescriptions to be refilled in original bottles. In researching the State Boards of Pharmacy, I came across this article on the National Conference of State Legislatures website that offers a state-by-state chart about how you can donate and recycle used medications but didn’t find anything about the legality (or illegality) or reusing prescription bottles.

I hope this puts to rest readers’ questions about recycling prescription bottles and options for reusing them. If not, let me know what else is on your mind, and I’ll see if I can’t find answers.