The Baxter County Sheriffs Office will participate again in the National Take Back Day Saturday, an effort to remove unwanted, unused, and potentially dangerous controlled substances and over the counter medications from medicine cabinets.The local initiative will be held from 10:00 until 2:00 Saturday at Lowe’s Home Improvement Store, located at 124 Charles Blackburn Drive in Mountain Home.
Deputies will be on hand at Lowe’s to assist members of the public with their medications for disposal.
The National Take Back Day provides an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction. These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and an unacceptable risk to children and to public health and safety. This event is intended to bring national focus to the issue of increasing pharmaceutical controlled substance abuse.
In the past, flushing medications and drugs seemed to be a safe and responsible method of disposal. It has been determined the drugs do not completely disintegrate and are contaminating our waterways. Wastewater treatment plants and septic systems are not generally designed to treat pharmaceutical waste. The risk to the health of our waters is significant when we contribute to pollution by what we pour down our drains. This ends up in our creeks, rivers, and lakes, and it places our drinking water supply at unnecessary risk.
The National Take Back Day program is free and operated with no questions asked. The drop off location will accept pills and medications in the bottle or in a bag or other disposable container. People may remove any or all labels from the bottles or containers if they wish. The process is very easy. Simply drive up and drop them off.
In addition to this specific event, people may use the secure drop box at 206 West Eighth Street in Mountain Home that is accessible at all times. This lock box is under 24-hour recorded video surveillance for security purposes.
All pills and pharmaceuticals collected will later be destroyed using drug incinerator equipment. Anyone having questions about the National Take Back Day or drop-off procedures may contact the Baxter County Sheriffs Office at 870-425-7000 for information.
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