BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL
Twice a year, the South Central Public Health District (SCPHD), in partnership with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), implements a prescription drug take-back program. Once in April and again in October, you will have the opportunity to get rid of any old medications you might have sitting around from illness, surgeries and even veterinary prescriptions.
For over 10 years, the SCPHD and DEA have worked with local police departments in eight counties to allow residents to safely dispose of prescription drugs by dropping them off at the local PDs, after which the DEA handles the incineration of the drugs.
The Hailey PD is manning the mission for Blaine County this October. It’s very easy—you just pack up your pill bottles, including unused veterinary medications, ideally in a plastic or paper bag, and drop them off on Saturday, October 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
One of the biggest problems with unused medication is contamination of ground soil and potable water. Most meds will be labeled as to whether they are flushable, but even so, in many rural areas, the refuse continues into the septic tank where harsh chemicals in the medication can disrupt the natural biome that regulates the breakdown of waste.
An interesting addition to the possible medical waste is e-cigarettes or ‘vapes.’ You can safely dispose of the nicotine cartridges and housing of the vapes as long as the lithium battery has been removed. Lithium batteries can be dangerous when struck, so removal is recommended to be done carefully and with the guidance of local hazardous waste disposal centers or an electronics repair shop technician.
For general privacy, it is also recommended to remove the label from the medication or mark out any identifying details with a permanent black marker. It’s not a rule but an optional and smart guideline.
Through the drug take-back program, just last April, around 500 to 600 pounds of medication was taken back, within the SCPHD alone and around 6,000 pounds of unused prescription medications were safely deposited and disposed of across the entire state of Idaho.
The date: Saturday, October 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The address: Hailey PD at 311 Cedar St. E., Hailey, ID 83333
If for some reason you cannot make the date and time, the Hailey PD has a lockbox where you can drop off your medications after hours.