WAYNE HEIGHTS–Washington Township Police Department, along with Walmart and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will host an unwanted prescription drop-off on Saturday, Oct. 24.
During the event, the public can help prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. The Take Back event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Walmart parking lot, 12751 Washington Township Blvd., Waynesboro.
Unwanted medications can be dropped off anytime during those hours. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
“We look forward to giving the community this opportunity to safely dispose of their
medications. This is a great program that we can offer with the assistance of Walmart and the
DEA”, said Cindy Broas, office manager. “This year has brought so many challenges with the
way we are able to interact with the community, we miss our community, and can’t wait to see
everybody. We will be following social distancing guidelines and practicing safety guidelines to keep everyone safe.”
This October’s event is DEA’s 19th nationwide event since its inception 10 years ago. Last fall,
Americans turned in nearly 883,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated
by the DEA and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. DEA, along with
its law enforcement partners, has now collected nearly 6,350 tons of expired, unused, and
unwanted prescription medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take
Back Initiative in 2010.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in
home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug
abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and
overdoses due to these drugs.
In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Washington Township Police
Department has a medication drop box and sharps collection box at the station located at
13013 Welty Road, Waynesboro. You can stop by and drop your medications for
disposal (no liquids or inhalers can be disposed of at the station house).
The FDA also provides information on how to properly dispose of prescription drugs. More
information is available here: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/where-andhow-dispose-unused-medicines. For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Oct. 24 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com.
