Port Washington is Taking Back Your Unwanted Prescription Drugs

The Port Washington community can help prevent pill abuse and theft by emptying their homes of unwanted and unused prescription drugs and bringing them to the Port Washington Police Headquarters for disposal on Saturday.

This is the tenth time in five years the Port Washington Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration has offered this free and anonymous service.

Pill owners can drop off their medications at Port Washington Police Headquarters, located at 500 Port Washington Boulevard, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps: just pills or patches.

The event provides a safe way to rid homes of medications. Disposing of pills by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash posts potential environmental, safety and health hazards, the DEA reported. Additionally, a majority of abused prescription drugs are found by family and friends in medicine cabinets.

Americans turned in over 617,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners in September 2014.

Combine those results with eight previous Take Back events, the DEA and its partners have collected over 4.8 million pounds of pills.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the September 26 Take Back Day event, go to the DEA Office of Diversion Control site .

If residents are unable to attend the Take Back event, they can drop off prescription drugs at the drug disposal box, located in the lobby of police headquarters. The box is open 24/7 and no appointment is necessary. The service is free and anonymous and no questions will be asked. Liquids, needles and sharps are not accepted: just pills or patches.