Yorktown, Somers: Safely Dispose of Prescription Medication

Somers and Yorktown residents are encouraged to safely dispose of their unwanted medication at the prescription drug collection box located at the Somers Police Department and Yorktown Police Department.

Residents can remove medications, they no longer need, from their homes and bring them to their police departments. The towns of Yorktown and Somers have each obtained a steel mailbox disposal vault through the Westchester Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Free Youths.

Snce 2012, Westchester County officials, through the departments of Public Safety (including the Stop-DWI Office) and Environmental Facilities have been recruiting police departments to host MedReturn Boxes. Twenty-one police departments, including Yorktown and Somers, now participate.

For the first nine months of this year, more than 2,500 pounds of medications have been collected as part of this program.

If residents cannot stop by a participating police station or the H-MRF, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) advises residents to mix the contents with undesirable substances (such as coffee grounds, cat litter or dirt), disguise to prevent discovery, tape the containers closed with strong tape and toss into the garbage.

For more information, go to the DEC’s drug disposal Web site (http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/67720.html). In addition to Westchester’s Medication Take-Back Program, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is scheduled to conduct a nationwide prescription drug collection on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Collections will be held at many locations throughout New York State; you can find a location near you on its website: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback.

To receive more information, or to view the list of participating police departments, go to www.westchestergov.com/medicationdisposal or call the Westchester County Recycling Helpline at (914) 813-5425.

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The Somers collection box is located immediately inside the front entrance of the Somers Police Department, located at 98 Primrose Street (Van Tassell Park).

The hours when the prescription drugs could be dropped off are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other hours can be arranged by calling 914-232-9622.

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The Yorktown collection box is located inside the front entrance of the Yorktown Police Department, located at 2281 Crompond Road in Yorktown Heights.