The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is hosting another National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, September 29, 2012 (10 am to 2 pm) at many local law enforcement offices and other locations across the country. This is a great opportunity for those who who have accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications. According to the DEA's website, last spring, "citizens turned in a record-breaking 552,161 pounds (276 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,659 take-back sites that were available.... The total four Take Back Days over that last few years have removed "over 1.5 million pounds (774 tons) of medication from circulation" and were prevented from entering our waters.
Proper and safe disposal of medicine can help prevent: misuse and abuse, poisoning of children and pets, as well as, drug pollution from entering rivers, lakes and the ocean and harming aquatic life. Don’t flush drugs down the toilet or the drain, as drugs can pass through wastewater treatment plants and enter waterways. To find a collection site near you, click here. The national number to call for the nearest National Take Back Initiative location is: 1-800-882-9539. If you can’t make it Saturday, click here to read about how to protect our waters and ocean by disposing of medicines properly.
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