DIXFIELD — Local police will set up at the Town Office on Saturday to receive unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal, Chief Richard A. Pickett said Friday.
The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 29. There will be a sandwich-board sign near the entrance door, and an officer will be inside the Town Office with the collection material.
Dixfield police are partnering with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in its fifth Drug Take-Back Day.
Pickett encouraged people to bring their outdated or no longer needed prescription drugs to the Town Office.
“Obviously, the reason we’re doing this is so we can keep these kinds of drugs out of the hands of people who would misuse them,” he said. Properly disposing of unwanted prescriptions also reduces the risk of accidental overdose by small children or others.
Pickett stressed that the program is anonymous.
“No questions or requests for identification will be made,” he said.
Controlled, noncontrolled and over-the-counter substances may be collected. Participants can dispose of medication in its original container or by removing the medication from the container and putting it directly into the disposal box.
Pickett said that if the original container is submitted, the individual should be encouraged to remove any identifying information from the prescription label.
All solid dosage pharmaceutical products and liquids in consumer containers may be accepted. Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in the original container, Pickett said. The depositor should ensure the cap is closed tight to prevent leakage. Liquids in a secondary container, also tightly sealed to prevent leakage, can be accepted, he said.
Intravenous solutions, injectables and syringes, including EpiPens, will not be accepted due to the potential hazard posed by blood-borne pathogens, Pickett said.
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