Safely dispose of unwanted or unused medication Sept. 27

Dispose of your unwanted and unused medication safely on Saturday, Sept. 27 during the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Initiative.

Flushing unused or old medications down the toilet can pollute our waterways. Wastewater treatment plants were not designed to remove these compounds. Throwing drugs in the trash or leaving them in the medicine chest can lead to unintentional use, overdose or illegal abuse. 

 According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the rate of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. is alarmingly high; almost twice as many Americans (6.8 million) abuse prescription drugs than the number of those abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants combined. 

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

However, unused medication of any type should never be thrown in the trash or flushed down the toilet. Doing so in the past has led to widespread contamination of water supplies.

So, how can you safely dispose of these unneeded medicines? At Saturday’s event. Click here to find a location near you — thousands of sites across the United States are participating. You can also call 800-882-9539.

Collection sites are open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.