After what seems like a never-ending winter, spring has arrived. With it comes the desire to clean rooms and purge unwanted items, including furniture, papers, books, kitchen utensils or clothing.
What about the medicine cabinet? Most likely, there are medications no longer used, expired or forgotten. However, these medications also have potential to be misused and may contribute to the start of a drug addiction according to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA.)
To prevent misuse of medications, the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is an opportunity to dispose of unneeded medications. Local agencies in the Twin Tiers host take-back events to keep communities clean and safe by establishing collection sites — with no questions asked.
Saturday, April 30, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and Tioga, Broome, and Chemung Counties in New York and Bradford County in Pennsylvania all have events for residents to safely dispose of those medicine cabinet finds.
In Tioga County, the Tioga County Advocacy, Support, and Prevention Coalition (ASAP) invites Tioga County residents to a free drive-up, no questions asked disposal of medications, vapes, vape cartridges, and sharps from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at CASA-Trinity at 72 North Ave. in Owego, N.Y., or Spencer Fire Department at 41 N. Main St. in Spencer, N.Y.
In Chemung County, the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office will accept medications, ointment, sprays, and sharp needles, no questions asked, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Southport Volunteer Fire Department, 1001 Carl St., Elmira, or at the West Elmira Volunteer Fire Department, 1299 W. Water St., Elmira. Residents are asked to keep the medications in their original container with the label intact however they may blacken out their name.
In Broome County, Tobacco-Free Broome and Tioga has partnered with the Prevention Coalition of Broome County to collect unused prescriptions, vaping devices, and cartridges from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Broome County Health Department, 225 Front St., Binghamton. Reality Check teens will also educate attendees about the harmful effects of tobacco and e-cigarettes to people and the environment.
The Broome County Sheriff’s Department will accept items from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at its office located at 155 Lt. VanWinkle Drive, Binghamton, N.Y. The Town of Vestal Police Department will also accept items from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at its location, 605 Vestal Pkwy. West, Vestal, N.Y.
In Bradford County, Pa., Pennsylvania State Police are collecting items from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Guthrie Troy Community Hospital, 275 Guthrie Drive, Troy, Pa.
To search for a collection site near you, visit the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration website at dea.gov/takebackday for a database updated frequently with new collection sites.
