SARASOTA – It’s National Take Back Day and all across the country law enforcement agencies are providing a safe place for residents to dispose of their unused medication.
The Sarasota Police Department is one of the agencies on the Suncoast addressing a vital public safety and health issue by accepting unused, expired or unwanted medication.
Officer Aaron Stoll says the process is anonymous. All residents have to do is bring in the medication, place them in a zip lock bag and SPD will have a place to properly dispose of them.
“We give our citizens an opportunity to safely dispose of them without putting them in the garbage, ending up in the water ways, ending up in the wrong hands,” said Officer Stoll. “It’s really a much safer alternative then just throwing them in the garbage.”
Officer Stoll says SPD isn’t accepting needles, liquids, or epipens. SPD reports last fall Americans turned in nearly 460 tons of prescription medication. SPD Headquarters also has a container in their lobby that accepts unwanted medication every day during regular business hours.