Prescription Drug Disposal Day- Don’t Crush or Flush!

When you open your medicine cabinet, are you confronted by outdated prescriptions that you are no longer taken but haven’t gotten rid of either? Do you wonder how you can safely dispose of them?

Perhaps you have painkiller from a previous injury or surgery. Maybe your doctor changed a routine medication and you don’t know what to do with the old one. Well, there is help.

Saturday, September 26, 2015 is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Programs will be hosted across the country, including here in NJ. Local authorities will partner with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to bring the programs to local communities.

At these events residents will be able to bring unused and expired medications for proper disposal. This will ensure responsible disposal of the medication and also serves to educate the community about potential abuse of medications. If you have unused medications lying around children or young adults could get into them or if you just put them in your regular garbage, they could fall into the wrong hands. Also, flushing them in a sink or toilet will result in contamination of the water supply.

To find out about an event in your area visit this website– https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/NTBI

Local law enforcement agencies will run the local event so you can also call the non-emergency number for your local law enforcement agency to inquire about the location and time of any events in your community.