National Prescription Drug Take Back Day: Central Texas law enforcement agencies are organizing collection sites

LEANDER, Texas – Saturday was National Medicine Take Back Day.

The national initiative allows the community to safely remove unnecessary medications from their homes, helping prevent drug abuse and reducing the risk of opioid addiction.

It is a day dedicated to encouraging the public to remove unnecessary medications from their homes to prevent medication abuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.

“It’s just collected in a medicine cabinet somewhere. So this gives them a place where they can leave it because, like I said, we don’t want to see them in the hands of other people, young children or other people even just people who don’t need it, who are trying to sell it, things like that,” he said Leander Police Chief Greg Minton.

It is also bad for our water to flush recipes down the toilet or pour them down the sink.

According to Texas Water Utilities, many medications, such as antibiotics and hormones, cannot be filtered out during treatment, so they end up in our rivers, lakes and streams.

“What I think people have done in the past, especially in the toilet, is throwing them in trash cans, which is not one of the safest ways to dispose of them. It’s not good for the environment,” Chief Minton said.

On Saturday, opposite central Texaslocal law enforcement held collection sites for community members to drop off unused prescriptions, including one at the Leander Medical Plaza.

St. David’s worked with Leander police at a drug delivery point.

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Chief Minton says prescription drugs are one of the most commonly abused drugs they see on the street.

“Yes, you will see the other illegal drugs that are probably in most communities. But it seems like the prescription or pill form is the bulk of most that we see,” Chief Minton said.

Chief Minton emphasizes that events like this bring the community one step closer to safer streets.

About inside Austinresident Dora Hall dropped off some unwanted prescriptions. She says the process took just a few minutes.

“I saw on the news last night that today would be a take-back day for medications. And I try to put them aside every time I have old medications or that have expired. And so I had collected two little bags and I had like, ‘Okay, I can get them out of my house now,'” Hall said.

In KyleTexas Water Utilities partnered with the Kyle Police Department for its event. Earlier this year, Kyle residents properly disposed of 144 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter medications at the drug collection site.

What happens next?

“We weigh them a certain pound, we go to one of their drop-off facilities or have officers there, where we weigh them to verify the weight. And then, from what I understand, they’re going to take them to a burning area and we’re going to burn them all,” Chief Minton said.

If you miss the return, there are a number of return boxes where you can safely dispose of it. Find one near you here.