DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on October 24th!
Event Provides Safe, Convenient, and Responsible
Means of Disposing of Unwanted Medicines
(Sacramento, CA) – Americans continue to support the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day by participating in the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) National Prescription upcoming Drug Take-Back event on October 24th from 10am to 2pm at designated locations throughout the country.
The DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected approximately 13 million pounds of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Initiative in 2010. On Oct. 24th, 2020, the public will have the opportunity to participate in the event through state and local law enforcement offices and other community partners. Take-back locations may be found here: www.DEATakeBack.com.
Beginning with last year’s October event, the DEA now accepts vaping devices and cartridges in addition to medications at all of its drop-off locations (NOTE: batteries must be removed from each device prior to disposal). With hundreds of confirmed lung injuries and dozens of deaths attributed to vaping use, the DEA has prioritized managing this waste to protect human health and safety and spreading the word to give residents a safe disposal option for vaping devices and cartridges, in addition to their medication.
Take-Back Day events provide easy, no-cost opportunities to remove and safely dispose of medicines languishing in the home that are highly susceptible to misuse, abuse, and theft. Public demand for safe and secure drug disposal has also resulted in a significant increase in year-round safe disposal bins at law enforcement facilities and pharmacies making drug disposal even more convenient.
The California Drug Take-Back Program, funded by the California Department of Health Care Services, recently placed approximately 250 year-round safe disposal bins at pharmacies and law enforcement offices across the state, supplementing existing bins in place and operational. These permanent bins can accept both controlled and non-controlled medications for people and pets. The bins were placed across California at DEA-approved locations, including California-licensed pharmacies, hospitals or clinics with onsite pharmacies, and law enforcement departments.
“Through the California Drug Take-Back Program, Californians all over the state now have greater access to convenient, safe, and environmentally friendly options to dispose of unwanted and potentially harmful medications. By providing the public access to these permanent bins at convenient locations, the program helps combat the statewide opioid crisis and help protect water quality. The bins are a great benefit to the health of our California communities and the environment,” said Doug Kobold, California Product Stewardship Council’s Executive Director.
Complete results for the DEA’s Fall 2019 Take-Back Day, in addition to DEA Take-Back event locations, are available at www.DEATakeBack.com. For a safe medicine disposal bin location near you, please visit: www.takebackdrugs.org.
This is a picture of the year-round bins provided free-of-charge to California Drug Take-Back Program participants. Photo courtesy of California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) and available for use by media outlets.
CPSC developed and administers the California Drug Take-Back Program to promote safe medication disposal and prevent the flushing and trashing of unwanted medications. CPSC’s mission is to shift California’s product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design that promote environmental sustainability. The California Drug Take-Back Program aligns with our mission by preparing locations for the producer-funded take-back program coming in 2022.
Please visit https://www.calpsc.org for more information.