IT IS BACK! After a year hiatus, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will be held Saturday, September 26, 2015. We will be collecting your medications at City Hall in Mallard and Ruthven from 10:00-10:30.a.m., and at the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office in Emmetsburg from 11:00-12:00 p.m. Please look for the Sheriff’s Office patrol cars and that is where we will be.
During the last event, which was held on Saturday, September 27, 2014, participating agencies collected 617,150 pounds (309 tons) of unwanted medication. On this day, thousands of DEA-coordinated collection sites across the country accepted tablets, capsules and all other solid dosage forms of medicines, including prescription painkillers and other controlled substance medications.
In four years and nine Take-Back Days, consumers have disposed of at least 4.8 million pounds (2,411 tons) of unwanted medication. Locally, in the 6 Take-Back programs we participated in, 83 pounds was shipped to the DEA for proper disposal.
We are happy this program has been resurrected to allow the collection of and proper disposal of these often abused medications. Please bring in all of your expired or unwanted prescriptions medications to one of these sites. If you can’t make it that day and time and you live in Palo Alto County, please call Sheriff Lynn J Schultes at the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office at 712-852-3535 so arrangements can be made to secure your medications. All medications will have to be received on or before September 26th so they can be shipped to the DEA for incineration.