Credit: Crimewatch/Ambler Borough Police Department
Ambler Police, in partnership with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the county Police Chief’s Association, is holding a prescription and over-the-counter drug National Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its station at 131 Rosemary Avenue.
Police are asking for those with unused or expired medications to drop off the drugs for safe disposal. However, no needles of any kind will be accepted.
National Drug Take Back Day is sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in certain communities nationwide, in addition to municipal and community drug take back programs, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
According to its website, there are ways to dispose of medicine at home, when a take back event is not easily available, depending on the drug.
The FDA offers the following two pieces of advice on medicine disposal in such an instance, per its website:
Flushing medicines: Because some medicines could be especially harmful to others, they have specific directions to immediately flush them down the sink or toilet when they are no longer needed, and a take-back option is not readily available.
How will you know? Check the label or the patient information leaflet with your medicine. Or consult the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of medicines recommended for disposal by flushing when a take back option is not readily available. Remember, don’t flush your medicine unless it is on the flush list.
Disposing medicines in household trash: If a take back program is not available, almost all medicines, except those on the FDA flush list (see below), can be thrown into your household trash. These include prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in pills, liquids, drops, patches, and creams.
Follow these steps:
Remove the drugs from their original containers and mix them with something undesirable, such as used coffee grounds, dirt, or cat litter. This makes the medicine less appealing to children and pets and unrecognizable to someone who might intentionally go through the trash looking for drugs.
Put the mixture in something you can close (a re-sealable zipper storage bag, empty can, or other container) to prevent the drug from leaking or spilling out.
Throw the container in the garbage.
Scratch out all your personal information on the empty medicine packaging to protect your identity and privacy. Throw the packaging away.
If you have a question about your medicine, ask your health care provider or pharmacist.
