Drug Disposal Dropbox Installed in Pulaski

by Contributor | September 2, 2019 7:20 am

PULASKI – The Oswego County Prevention Coalition had partnered with the village of Pulaski Police Department to install a new prescription drug disposal dropbox.

The box is located inside the entrance of the Town Clerk’s Office, across the street from the Springbrook Apartments senior living facility.

The dropbox is anonymous and requires no paperwork to drop off medications.

A citizen need simply to walk inside the department and drop the medications, still inside their original containers.

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in the past, consumers were told to flush unwanted drugs and despite technological advances and research, low levels of drugs have been found in New York waters.

And when a drug is simply tossed in the trash, it leaves the risk of someone else finding it and abusing it.

The safest way to dispose of these drug is these public dropboxes where they are disposed by local police.

Oswego County Prevention Coalition Project Coordinator Tyler Ahart said that these dropboxes are a big part of reducing the prevalence of illegally obtained opioids in our county.

“The majority of adolescent opioid abuse begins with in-home access, so it is important to properly dispose of these substances when an individual completes their prescription,” he said.

Ahart also explained that without these community partnerships and the support from local law enforcement these projects that serve to benefit Oswego County would not be possible.

There are two additional prescription disposal dropboxess at the Oswego City Police Department and the Fulton City Police Department.

In just a six-month time period, the combined efforts of both the Oswego dropbox and the Fulton dropbox has collected and incinerated roughly 118 pounds of both prescription and over the counter medications.

“All of the drugs collected and disposed of as a result of these dropboxes are drugs that could have been used illegally; subsequently putting someone at risk for an overdose,” said Ahart.

The Oswego County Prevention Coalition is a grant funded coalition that works to reduce the prevalence of adolescent substance abuse in Oswego County.

To get involved with the coalition’s community efforts, please call 315-342-4489.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/community/drug-disposal-dropbox-installed-in-pulaski/

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