April 27th is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Every year, the DEA collects unused or expired prescription drugs at multiple locations throughout the country. Last year, the total added up to over 900,000 pounds of prescription drugs. This day was established by the DEA in 2010 as a way of offering a sensible solution to the disposal of prescription drugs. In that time, they’ve collected 10,878,950 pounds of unused or expired prescription drugs. Do you have expired prescription drugs that you need to dispose of? Here’s what you need to know about National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Why It’s Necessary
The disposal of prescription drugs presents a unique problem. Sometimes you have pills left over even after you’ve recovered, or you may have prescription drugs that have expired. Technically, you can throw your prescription drugs out in the trash, but it’s often not recommended. If you have children in the home, throwing your pills away can make it easy for them to reach into the trash can and take them, thinking they’re some sort of treat. There’s also a risk of prescription drugs being stolen from your trash bins outside by drug addicts or people who mistakenly believe that prescription drugs will lead to a safer high. Even flushing prescription drugs is not always the best solution, as some will release harmful chemicals into sewage water that eventually flows to rivers and lakes.
However, you don’t want to hold onto your old medications, either. sometimes even keeping your old prescription drugs in a home medicine cabinet can be dangerous, especially if there’s a chance that children can reach them or someone with a substance abuse problem in your family.
There are a few other ways to dispose of unused prescription drugs, which we covered in our previous blog: How to Dispose of Unused Medications. However, if you want to be absolutely safe, you can participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by dropping off your old prescription drugs at a collection site.
How It Works
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day runs from 10am to 2pm on April 27. There are collection sites throughout the country, and you can find the ones closest to you as of April 1 by checking out the DEA Diversion website. Once you know where to go, take all of your used or expired prescription drugs to the collection site and drop them off in the correct bin. From there, the DEA will dispose of the prescription drugs safely so that they don’t end up in the hands of anyone who will misuse them. Through this program, the number of prescription drug misuse is decreased, as well as the amount of deaths due to overdose.
At Brazos Valley Trash Valet & Recycling, it’s not just important to us that you have trash and recycling bins, but that you’re informed and able to take care of your trash and recycling disposal safely. For more tips on disposing of prescription drugs or questions about our trash and recycling service, contact us today.
