Indiana American Water is joining forces with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to encourage Indiana residents to clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in unused or expired medications safely and anonymously at local collection sites this Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For those who can’t participate, the awareness campaign also includes information on how to properly dispose of these items at home.
Indiana American Water President Matthew Prine stated, “Far too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands and into our precious water sources, potentially harming the environment or friends and family members. According to the DEA, more than 6
million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs in 2017, with a majority of the drugs
coming from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.”
Indiana American Water advises that usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash as is—are ineffective and actually quite dangerous since doing so can pose potential safety and health hazards, such as diversion, misuse and abuse.