National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Is October 29, 2022

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day scheduled for Saturday, October 29, 2022, from 10 AM - 2 PM.  Drop off your unused prescription and over the counter medications at the locations listed to the right. 

The April 30, 2022, collection harvested 1,056 pounds of prescription pharmaceuticals!  Let's try and beat that record!

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

Background

This national initiative pairs local coalitions with the DEA to collect prescriptions locally and dispose of them so they are no longer a public health threat.  Scheduled collections are twice a year – April and October on the last Saturday of the month.  

The 16th annual national collection was October 27, 2018 and harvested the following results. The total weight of national, state and county totals from collections from 2010-2018.

Total National Collection Sites:     5,839

Total Indiana Collection Sites:      86

Total Porter County Sites:    6

Total National Collection Weight:  914,236 lbs. (457.12 Tons)

Total Indiana Collection Weight:    21,480 lbs.

Total NWI Region    11,127 lobs

Total Porter County Weight:    1,146 lbs. 

Total Nation Weight 2010-2018  10,878,950 lbs. (5,439.5 Tons)

Total Indiana Weight 2010-2018    292,462 lbs.

Total Porter County Weight 2010-18    19,340 lbs. 

National Prescription Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue.  According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.2 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs.  The study shows that most abused prescription drugs were obtained from family friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.

If you have unused or expired medications in your home, you don’t have to wait until a scheduled Take Back Day!  All Porter County police departments except for Kouts has approved and monitored receptacles for the proper disposal of your prescriptions.  The facility is open 24/7 so after you clean out your cabinets you can drop them off at your convenience.  A list of locations is listed on this site.