Allen Clinic Pharmacy to Take Old, Expired and Unused Medications Feb. 25

Press release from Allen Hospital:

Allen Clinic Pharmacy will hold a controlled medication TakeAway day on Monday, February 25, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.  During the event, the Allen Clinic Pharmacy will take old, expired or unused prescription and over-the-counter medications back from the community for disposal as an alternative to flushing them down a toilet or putting them in the garbage.

Medications can be brought to the Allen Clinic Pharmacy located at 146 West Dale St., Suite 103, just inside Entrance 3 at Allen Hospital in Waterloo. Medications should be brought in original packaging or in labeled prescription bottles so they can be identified. There is no charge to drop off medications and they can be dropped off on behalf of others. Medications not eligible for the TakeAway program are sharps, needles, products over 120 mL, durable medical equipment supplies or home care supplies including hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol. Since controlled medications will be accepted for disposal, law enforcement will be present.

Allen Clinic Pharmacy is a member of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, which launched the statewide TakeAway program in partnership with the Iowa Board of Pharmacy. The program utilizes pharmacies as take-back sites for Iowans to safely dispose of unused or expired medications that may be dangerous to others and to the environment if not disposed of properly. Medications collected at TakeAway events are incinerated in a waste-to-energy destruction facility.

The Office of National Drug Control has found that prescription drugs are the drug of choice among 12- and 13-year olds, while a third of all new abusers of prescription drugs are between the ages of 12 and 17. Consumers are disposing of unused medicines by flushing them down the drain, adding pharmaceutical pollution to water supplies. In addition, medicines thrown in the trash can end up in landfills if not first picked up by children, pets or anyone rummaging through trash.

For more information on TakeAway, including a list of acceptable and non-acceptable items, please visit www.iarx.org/takeaway.