Where to drop off prescription drugs on national take-back day

Law enforcement agencies across the country will be collecting expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs this Saturday as part of the national Drug Enforcement Administration’s take-back initiative.

“The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse,” according to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office about the event.

The event will take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. In Linn County drugs can be taken to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, 310 2nd Ave.SW, Cedar Rapids, during that time.

In Johnson County, prescription drugs can be delivered to the East Side Recycling Center, 2401 Scott Blvd. SE, Iowa City.

“Pharmaceuticals should be in the original containers with names blacked out or in plastic baggies with no personal patient information,” according to a news release from the Iowa City Police Department.

Other locations for pharmaceutical drop offs on Saturday can be found on the DEA Take Back Day website, dea.gov/takebackday.

Many law enforcement locations and pharmacies also have permanent, year-round drug take-back drop boxes. A map of where those drop-off locations can be found is available on the website of the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy, https://bit.ly/45JD0dq.

According to Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy, unused prescription drugs should also be turned in to a permanent take-back location or during a take-back event. Pharmaceuticals should only ever be tossed in the trash as a last resort if no other disposal options are available.

If unused drugs are thrown away, they should be removed from their original containers, mixed with coffee grounds, dirt, kitty litter, or other undesirable substances, and disposed in a sealed bag to avoid leakage, according to the drug control office’s website.

Prescription drugs should never be flushed down the toilet, as this can cause them to end up in the water supply.

City water departments typically test water sources for chemicals that come from things like prescription drugs. Jon Durst, the Iowa City Water Superintendent, said Iowa City, which gets its water from the Iowa River, doesn’t normally find anything at a high enough volume that it can’t be filtered out through the water treatment process.

“There are likely pharmaceuticals in the waterway but some of them are not detectable and others are at lower concentrations. So, we would encourage people to seek other means of disposing of pharmaceuticals rather than putting them down the drain,” Durst said. “Wastewater treatment plants do have the ability to remove some of those complex organics, but nothing is 100 percent.”

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