PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and the DEA is advising people not to throw out leftover or expired drugs, as they may end up in landfills.
About ⅓ of Americans neglect to clean out their medicine cabinets annually, and ⅕ haven’t cleaned them in three years, even though most medications expire within a year, according to Consumer Reports.
Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Work Group Executive Director Anne Vogel-Marr says holding onto old prescription medications only raises the risk of misuse.
“If the medicine isn't properly disposed of, people can gain access to it — either advertently or inadvertently. You do want to make sure that any old medicine that is in your medicine cabinet is properly disposed to minimize the chance that anyone could get in contact with it,” Vogel-Marr said.
That’s why, on April 27, more than 22,000 kiosks across the country and about 1,000 in Pennsylvania will be participating in Drug Take Back Day.
The kiosks are free and allow for secure disposal options. They are typically located in pharmacies, health care facilities and community government offices. To find one near you, click here.
In 2023, nearly 600,000 pounds of unneeded medications were collected nationwide.