Allegany County residents will be able to dispose of their unused prescription drugs tomorrow on their way to the Allegany County Deputy Sheriff’s Association’s annual Trunk or Treat.
The Allegany County Sheriff’s Office is hosting its biannual Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 11AM to 1PM Saturday, October 28, at both the Allegany County Employment and Training, 6 Wells Lane, Belmont, and the Cuba Fire Department, 51 East Main Street, to keep unusual prescription drugs out of the hands of abusers and children and to keep them out of public water supplies due to flushing.
The Belmont site is across the street from the Trunk or Treat event at the Allegany County Office Building and Court House at 7 Court Street, where the Trunk or Treat is following from 1PM to 4PM with candy and treats giveaways for children, along with a drawing for two, 20-inch bicycles.
No questions asked disposal
Officers will be on hand earlier at the two Allegany County locations to receive no-questions-asked unused prescription drugs as part of the national Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) TakeBack initiative.
Individuals are encouraged to take part in this effort to keep unused prescription drugs out of the hands of unauthorized individuals who often take them from home drawers and medicine chests and children who can swallow and overdose if they happen to discover them unattended. Public water supplies also can be negatively impacted through flushing of unused medicines.
Over 80 pounds of substances were collected in April at sites in Friendship and Wellsville.
For those wishing to dispose of sharps, which aren’t accepted at the drop off locations, they can be deposited into drop boxes at county refuse disposal sites at Alfred, Belmont, Bolivar, Caneadea, Canaseraga, Cuba/Friendship, and Wellsville.
Used sharps should be placed in a sealable container, with the entire container dropped into the sharps boxes.
Allegany is one of only two counties in the state for disposal of sharps needles at such sites.
Becoming advocates
Individuals and organizations also can become advocates for this twice-a-year initiative by letting others know about the national searchable database for event locations at https://bit.ly/3lEZE1B.
Disposal at other sites, including Wyoming and Cattaraugus counties, will be during a longer 10AM to 2PM window. Those wishing to drop off prescription drugs at those locations should check with the collectors to ensure that they have updated their information on the DEA database search site.
The Allegany County Sheriff’s Office NY is assisted by local police agencies, along with Partners for Prevention in Allegany County (Ppac Central) and the Allegany Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, in the county initiative.