DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

The next National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is scheduled for October 28, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Stella Roberts Recycling Center (5800 Magnolia St, Pearland, TX  77584) and at a second location on the west side of Pearland, Reflection Bay Recreation Center(12115 S. Clear Lake Loop Pearland, TX  77584).

Keeping prescription and nonprescription medications out of our landfills and treated water will help create a safer and more environmentally responsible community. Keep Pearland Beautiful, the Bay Area Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and Constable Buck Stevens are sponsoring the event at the Stella Roberts Recycling Center (5800 Magnolia, Pearland, TX 77584).  Shadow Creek Ranch is providing space at their facility for the collection at Reflection Bay Recreation Center.

First, remember that any prescribed medications should never be shared with anyone else and you should always completely finish your full course of antibiotics for them to be the most effective. Second, the consumer information sheet that comes with every prescription will tell you how to dispose of any unused portions.

If you no longer have the sheet or are still unsure then the best option is to dispose of the medication, whether it is prescribed or over the counter, at a local collection event.

According to the DEA, “The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.”

If you can’t make it to the Take Back Event on October 28, 2017, there are permanent drop boxes at the following police departments: Alvin, Angleton, Clute, Freeport, Lake Jackson, Richwood and Sweeny.  Also, most medications can be thrown away in the trash. It is recommended that you remove them from their container and mix it in with undesirable trash that will make the medication unappealing to anyone who might be picking through your trash. Some ideas for making pills unappealing are to mix the pills with coffee grounds, bacon grease or spoiled leftovers.

For more information on this and other Keep Pearland Beautiful programs please call 281-489-2795 or visit our website www.mykpb.org.  For more information about the Drug Take Back Program and other drug and alcohol abuse problems, please visit www.bacoda.org.