National Drug Take Back event set for April 26 with collection sites in Vail, Avon, Eagle

Eagle River Water & Sanitation recently issued the following press release on local participation in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Apr. 26:

Local law enforcement agencies are participating in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Apr. 26. Personnel from the Vail Police Department, Avon Police Department, and the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office will host collection sites from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Vail Municipal Building, Avon Walmart, and City Market in Eagle. This is an opportunity to clean out medicine cabinets of all unwanted, expired or unused medications and have them disposed of safely. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Getting rid of unused medication helps prevent accidental and intentional misuse of these items. Eagle River Water & Sanitation District supports safe disposal of medicine because it protects water sources by keeping drugs out of wastewater and the landfill.

The collected items will be incinerated in an environmentally friendly manner by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which spearheads the national effort. Locally, the DEA’s National Take Back Initiative is coordinated by the Safe Drug Disposal Program, which is a partnership between the Vail Police Department, Avon Police Department, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle County Government, Vail Health, and Eagle River Water & Sanitation District.

Items that can be dropped off on Saturday are vitamins, supplements, medicated ointments/lotions, over the counter and prescription medications, including controlled substances (narcotics). Please, no needles (sharps) or pressurized canisters. 

The DEA collection sites will also collect vape pens or other e-cigarette devices only after the batteries are removed from the devices. If the battery cannot be removed, check with large electronic chain stores that may accept the vape pen or e-cigarette for proper disposal.

Public safety and public health

This initiative addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. Unused prescription medications in homes can be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused, and abused. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that most abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including home medicine cabinets.

Also, Americans know that outdated methods for disposing of unused medicines, such as flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash, pose potential safety and health hazards.

In 2014, new regulations made the disposal of controlled prescription drugs easier for patients and their caregivers. Since then, law enforcement agencies, pharmacies, hospitals and clinics have begun continuous collection of these medications. 

Latest take back day stats

In October 2024, Americans turned in 314 tons (629,953 pounds) of prescription drugs at 4,644 collection sites set up by the DEA and its 4,425 law enforcement and community partners across the nation. In Colorado, 54 law enforcement entities collected 5.74 tons (11,471 pounds) of prescription drugs at 80 sites.

The previous 27 DEA-coordinated Take Back events nationwide since 2010 have removed more than 19 million pounds (9,600 tons) of prescription medications from circulation (409,832 pounds in Colorado).

Year-round disposal sites

There are six permanent medication take-back receptacles in the Eagle River valley. The Vail Police Department, Avon Police Department, and Eagle County Sheriff’s Office each host a drop box as part of the Colorado Household Medication Take Back Program sponsored by the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention. The Vail Pharmacy located in Vail Health Hospital, the Edwards Pharmacy located at Shaw Cancer Center, and Vail Valley Pharmacy in Edwards also have safe disposal boxes for both controlled and non-controlled medications that are available, free of charge, during business hours.

For more information, visit www.takemedsback.org.