West Michigan participates in National Drug Take Back Day
At two drop-off sites in Wyoming, the University of Michigan Health-West and the Wyoming Department of Public Safety, more than 100 pounds of unwanted drugs were collected. It's part of a national effort led by the Drug Enforcement Administration to prevent medication misuse, reduce overdose risk and protect the environment.
Pete Haverkamp, director of pharmacy at University of Michigan Health-West, has been a part of these events at the hospital since they started in 2011. Saturday marked the team's 27th drug take-back event. Since it began, the two sites have collected more than four tons of drugs.
'We enjoy doing this because it helps remove unwanted medication from our houses and homes,' he said.
Collecting the drugs is part of the effort to help helping the environment by stopping improper disposal, since inappropriate disposal can lead to contamination in watersheds. It is also meant to protect families. Getting rid of these drugs also helps remove overdose risk by reducing diversion of controlled substances.
The event gives families a safe, anonymous way to drop off medications without fear of judgment. It also helps address emotional burdens tied to old prescriptions.
'It's wonderful to help the public,' Haverkamp said. 'Sometimes it's really healing for people to get rid of medications associated with a loved one who passed away. This is a great way for them to dispose of medications appropriately and kind of let part of their life go.'
Some drugs collected Saturday dated back decades, including medications from the 1970s and 1980s, long pushed to the backs of household cabinets.
Once collected, volunteers carefully remove any personal information from packaging, recycle the plastics and cardboard and safely incinerate the drugs to minimize environmental harm.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day happens twice a year, in April and October. In October alone, more than 629,000 pounds of medications were collected at nearly 4,700 sites across the United States.
For those who missed Saturday's event, year-round drop-off locations can be found on
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