Get Rid Of Unwanted Prescription Pills On Drug Take Back Day

AURORA, IL — The Saturday following President Trump's declaration of a national emergency with the country's opioid epidemic, thousand of police stations are taking part in a prescription drug take back program, including Aurora Police. It's a "no questions asked" event, which means they'll take pet medications and over-the-counter pills, too. Trump urged all Americans to participate.

In the 13 times the station has done this, they receive an average of 200 to 250 pounds in the fall and spring. The drugs are sent to the Drug Enforcement Agency. The goal of Drug Take Back Day is to prevent pill abuse and theft by purging expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs. Through all the events, the DEA has taken over 8 million pounds of prescription drugs off the shelves of homes across America.

Containers of any kind can be dropped off at 1200 E. Indian Trail Saturday, Oct. 28 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. They cannot, however, accept liquids, needles or sharps. Only pills and patches will be accepted. This is the fourteenth National Take Back Day. The last one in April took in more than 43,000 pounds of pills and patches statewide.

Between take back days, certain locations do take leftover pills. This is the best method of disposing of prescription medications, says Take Back Your Meds, an advocacy group. It also says most wastewater treatment plants don't filter out ingredients found in prescription drugs.

Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards, not just to humans. The United States Geological Survey lumps prescription medications in with other chemicals, collectively known as "contaminants of emerging concern." Environmental health studies have showed showed reproductive changes in fish when exposed to hormones in birth control pills, even in low parts per million doses. In another, antidepressants were found in fish's brains five miles downstream from a wastewater treatment plant.

Oswego Police is not an official collection site, but anyone is welcome to drop off at Aurora's station.

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