Operation Medicine Drop to be held at Kids Fest Sept. 24
By From staff reports
Published in News on September 12, 2016 10:11 AM
What do you do with those old pills that collect in your medicine cabinet or kitchen? Some people keep them in case they need the medicine down the road while others leave them in the cabinet or flush them down the toilet. These solutions might have worked in the past, but not in today's world.
The Operation Medicine Drop campaign will collect those outdated, unwanted, and unneeded prescription or over-the-counter pills.
Sponsored by the 4-H Prevention Program, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and the WATCH Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force, pills will be collected on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. during Kids Fest at Berkeley Mall. Volunteers will be located at the front entrance to the mall; just drive up and they will be collected.
Pills should remain in the original bottle or container to enable the types of pills to be tracked. No names will be used and bottles will be destroyed with the pills. You can mark through your personal information or a black permanent marker will be available collection day.
In recent years United States Geological Society scientists have discovered various kinds of medicine in the water supply: antibiotics, birth control pills, cancer treatments, etc. Most waste water treatment facilities are not able to remove these substances from the water supply. With antibiotics in the water, it is possible that humans could in the future have increased resistance to antibiotics. It is also unknown how these other chemicals in the water will affect humans over time.
Clean out those unwanted medicines, vitamins, ointments, lotions, etc. and bring them to Berkeley Mall on Sept. 24. Items not accepted are: needles, syringes with needles, thermometers, IV bags, bloody or infectious waste, personal care items, hydrogen peroxide or empty containers.
For more information, call Barbara Byers of the Wayne County 4-H at 919-731-1527 or Robin Stine of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office at 919-731-1489.