Plymouth Residents Can Drop Off Old Prescription Drugs

Ever wonder how to get rid of prescription drugs that are either expired or unwanted without flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash?

The city of Plymouth Police Department is teaming up with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to give residents a chance to safely dispose of medications from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Plymouth City Hall.

One of the fire bay doors will be open with an officer seated nearby. There will be cardboard containers available to dispose of pills only. People will keep their prescription bottles with personal identifications, such as names and addresses. Instead, they just empty the bottle into the container.

The service is free and completely anonymous. No questions will be asked.

This is the first year Plymouth is participating in the program. The city had wanted to participate last year but was too late getting involved, according to Paula Sherman, police administrator.

â??The chief was contacted by the Green Street Fair because they are going to be taking in nonprescription medications during their event,â?? Sherman said. â??And we wanted to be a little proactive and have people dispose of their prescription drugs before the Green Street Fair so they wouldnâ??t be bringing in their prescription drugs, because the Green Street Fair will not be able to accept any prescription drugs â?? only over-the-counter medicines.

"We wanted to try and coordinate the two together, so people would be able to do that to save the environment and also dispose of things properly and safely so they wouldnâ??t get into the wrong hands,â?? Sherman said.

This will also be the first year for the Green Street Fair to take in and safely dispose of over-the-counter medicines, according to Raychel Rork, one of the fair's founders.

â??I just tried to clean out my medicine cabinet in my own home, and I have two kids,â?? Rork said. â??I was trying to dispose of it (outdated medicines) and couldnâ??t even find a place I could take it. Thatâ??s when I went, this is a huge bummer. Everyone has medicines at home that are either expired or they donâ??t take anymore. What are people supposed to do?

"Thatâ??s why people resort to flushing it or throwing it in the garbage, because even if they want to do the right thing, they donâ??t even know where to take it," she said. "It seemed like an obvious next step for us to provide that as an item you can recycle at the fair.â??

The Green Street Fair is teaming up with Great Lakes Clean Water to participate in its Yellow Jug for Old Drugs Program. Great Lakes Clean Water volunteers will be on hand at the fair, May 6-8, to help sort through medications and to answer any questions people might have.

â??If you have controlled substances, those need to be taken to the one with the DEA at City Hall,â?? Rork said. â??Thatâ??s why thereâ??s going to be professionals there, sorting through everything and answering questions.â??

At 2 p.m. Saturday, the container at Plymouth City Hall will be sealed and picked up by the DEA.
http://plymouth-mi.patch.com/articles/plymouth-residents-can-drop-off-old-prescription-drugs?ncid=M255