How To Safely Throw Away Unwanted Medicine In Montclair: 2023 Event

MONTCLAIR, NJ — An annual “Drug Take Back Day” is returning to Essex County for 2023.

The event aims to encourage residents to dispose of their old or unwanted prescription medications in a safe way. Collection sites are set up at municipal police departments throughout Essex County, including Montclair.

Bringing medication to the collection locations is free and anonymous. Residents can dispose of their unused prescription drug medication by placing it in the marked collection sites. Residents should remove any identifying information from the medication containers, such as their name, address, telephone number and doctor’s name. Medications that are collected are brought to a licensed facility where they are safely disposed, county officials said. For more information, call 973-323-3907.

Family Connections’ ADAPT Coalition, the Essex County Division of Community Health and the DEA have formed partnerships with municipal police departments to serve as permanent collection sites. There are two such sites in Montclair, which are open year-round:

• Montclair Police, Department, 647 Bloomfield Avenue
• Montclair State University Police Department, 1 Normal Avenue

To help promote this year’s campaign, there will also be two temporary collection sites open in Essex County on Saturday, April 22:

• Essex Fells Police Department, 255 Roseland Avenue (rear of building)
• West Caldwell Police Department, 21 Clinton Road

“You have to realize that even if a drug has expired, if it is used improperly or by someone it was not prescribed for, it can still be deadly,” Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said. “This program makes it easy for everyone to dispose of their prescription drugs in a proper manner.”

Jacques Hryshko, executive director of Family Connections, said that in the 11 years the organization has been working with the county, more than 40,000 pounds of drugs have been collected and disposed.

“Prescription drug abuse and misuse is an epidemic, and we are pleased that Essex County is a leader in opioid abuse prevention,” Hryshko said. “Drug Take Back Day and the year-round collection boxes have proven to be effective, with over 4,000 pounds of pills collected last year.”

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