National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day This Saturday
Poughkeepsie … Dutchess County Executive Marcus J. Molinaro encourages the public’s participation in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, October 27th. Residents are encouraged to dispose of all unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs safely and anonymously at any of the 10 permanent drop-off locations at law enforcement facilities throughout Dutchess County.
This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Vassar Brothers Medical Center, located at 45 Reade Place in Poughkeepsie, and Northern Dutchess Hospital, located at 6511 Springbrook Avenue in Rhinebeck, will also accept medications for disposal. Representatives from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and the Dutchess County STOP-DWI Program will be on hand at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, encouraging residents to utilize the 10 medication drop boxes located throughout Dutchess County – not just on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, but every day – and distributing information about the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box Program.
Medications steadily accumulate in the home, where the vast majority are improperly discarded or stored indefinitely. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medications, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away, posing safety and environmental hazards.
In 2017, a total of 3,019 pounds of medications were collected at the 10 countywide drop-off locations, Office for the Aging senior picnics and public collection events, and destroyed. Since the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box Program was launched in 2014, more than 9,200 pounds of unwanted or unneeded medications have been safely collected and destroyed.
By allowing residents to anonymously dispose of unused and unwanted prescription medications throughout the year at permanent medication disposal sites, the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box Program proactively addresses drug abuse throughout the County.
- The following drop-off locations are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week:
- Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, 150 North Hamilton Street, Poughkeepsie
- New York State Police, Troop K Headquarters, 2541 Route 44, Salt Point
- City of Beacon Police Department, 1 Municipal Plaza, Beacon
- East Fishkill Police Department, 2468 Route 52, Hopewell Junction
- Hyde Park Police Department, 3 Cardinal Road, Hyde Park
- Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, 19 Tucker Drive, Poughkeepsie
- Wappingers Falls Police Department, 2628 South Avenue, Wappingers Falls
Additional drop-off locations are accessible during the following days/hours:
- Village of Millerton Police Department, 21 Dutchess Ave., Millerton
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, noon-midnight; Sunday, 4 p.m.-midnight - Village of Red Hook Police Department, 7467 South Broadway, Red Hook
Daily, 8 a.m. to midnight - Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Pawling Substation, 9 Memorial Avenue, Pawling
Residents can call (845) 486-3000 to make arrangements for drop-off
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is an effort to address vital public safety and health issues and an opportunity to highlight current programs targeting the growing epidemic of drug overdoses. Over the past seven years, more than 9 million pounds of expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications have been collected nationwide at National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events.
National Prescription Take-Back Day offers collection sites for this event throughout the United States; a list of collection sites can be found at http://www.dea.gov.
