The time to get rid of prescriptions you no longer use or need is Saturday.
Saturday, April 28, 2018, is the 10th Annual National Drug Take Back. Across the Tennessee Valley, there will be 14 locations collecting old medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, from 10:00 am-2:00 pm.
According to Tennessee American Water, "the purpose of this event is to keep drugs out of the environment and off of our streets."
The water provider and a spokesperson for the Hamilton County Coalition explained that properly disposing of old prescriptions can prevent medication errors, accidental overdoses or inappropriate use or abuse.
“Properly disposing of medication reduces the chance of teenage experimentation and overdose," Camilla Bibbs, Executive Director of the Hamilton County Coalition, said. "We encourage residents to take advantage of the drug take back day by simply driving to one of the locations and dropping off medication with no questions asked.”
Proper disposal can also help protect the environment. Flushing unwanted prescriptions down the toilet can cause environmental issues.
“Experience shows that the most effective and cost-efficient way to ensure high-quality water at the tap is to keep our source waters clean. We support this partnership because it helps spread an important message to the public: Don't flush medications down the toilet, where they would eventually end up in our waterways,” said Kitty Vaughn, Tennessee American Water Supervisor of Water Quality and Environmental Compliance
Five of the 14 locations will also have document shredders available for personal documents. Those locations are in bold on the list below.
Here is the list of locations participating in Saturday's events:
- Walgreens in Hixson - 5478 TN Highway 153
- Walgreens in East Ridge - 5301 Ringgold Road
- Walgreens in East Brainerd - 2289 Gunbarrel Road
- Walgreens in Northshore – 110 North Market Street
- Mt. Canaan Baptist Church – 4801 Hwy. 58
- Elk’s Lodge #91 – 1069 Graysville Road
- First Baptist Church – 506 East 8th Street
- Food City in Red Bank - 3901 Dayton Boulevard
- Orchard Knob Baptist Church – 1734 E. 3rd Street
- Signal Mountain Police Department -1111 Ridgeway Avenue
- Walgreens in Brainerd - 3605 Brainerd Road
- Walgreens in Ooltewah - 9307 County Highway
- Walgreens in Soddy-Daisy – 121 Harrison Lane
- Walgreens in St. Elmo – 3550 Broad Street
Drug take back boxes are located around the area and are ready to accept your old, outdated, or otherwise unused medications year-around. To find the one nearest you, follow this link to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services website. There they have included an interactive map.
