Somerset County Sheriff Frank J. Provenzano is pleased to announce that the Sheriff’s Office will be hosting a bi-annual Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Medications can be dropped off at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters at the Somerset County Administration Building, located at 20 Grove Street, Somerville, N.J. 08876.  A sheriff’s officer will be stationed at the entrance to collect medications.

Residents are encouraged to drop off any unused, unwanted or expired medications in reclosable plastic zipper-like bags.  Pills can be emptied into the bags and the containers can be discarded beforehand.  Needles and syringes of any kind cannot be dropped off. The program is free and anonymous and allows residents to safely dispose of medications.  

“Prescription-medication abuse is a growing problem in today’s society and disposing of them properly can stop them from falling into the wrong hands, being used after their expiration date, being flushed down the toilet, where they can contaminate waterways, or being thrown out in the trash,” said Sheriff Provenzano.

The American people responded overwhelmingly to the April 28 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-led National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.  U.S. citizens turned in 552,161 pounds (276 tons) of unwanted, unused or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,659 Take Back sites in the United States. In the four Take Back dates to date, over 1.5 million pounds (750 tons) of medications have been removed from homes and medicine cabinets.

“At the April event in Somerset County, residents turned in over 40 pounds of medications,” said Sheriff Provenzano.  “I hope that they will be able to again find the time to go through their homes and collect outdated and unused medications for proper disposal this month.”

For further information, contact Lt. Steve SanAntonio at 908-231-7168 or SanAntonio@co.somerset.nj.us.