Submitted by the Bedford Health Department
The Town of Bedford Police Department, Board of Health, Council on Aging and Youth and Family Services are collaborating to help Bedford residents get unwanted prescription drugs and used medical sharps out of their homes and disposed of properly. The next free collection event will be held on Saturday, October 26th from 10 am – 2 pm at the Bedford Police Department located at 2 Mudge Way.
Prescription Drugs
We want your family and you to be safe from accidental poisoning, overdose and drug abuse. According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than six million Americans abuse prescription drugs. That same study revealed more than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.
There are several steps you can take in your own home to ensure the safety of you and your family such as:
- Take inventory of your prescription and over-the-counter medicine
- Consider keeping your medicine chest locked
- Dispose of any unused, unwanted or expired medicine
- Take your medicine exactly as prescribed and do not share your medication
- Talk to your children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse
The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposal, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of these medications. Please bring old, unused or expired prescription drugs to the Bedford Drug Take-Back Event for proper disposal. Over the counter (OTC) drugs will not be accepted at this event and may be disposed in your household trash.
Did you know that 90% of addictions start in the teen years? Take the pledge to end medicine abuse at medicineabuseproject.org/pledge. By signing The Pledge, you are making strides toward ending this epidemic by agreeing to safeguard the medicines in your home and to have conversations with your family about medicine abuse.
Medical Sharps
Due to state regulations that went into effect in 2012, it is no longer acceptable to dispose of medical sharps (including lancets and hypodermic needles) in household trash. These sharps must be disposed of at a sharps collection event. To dispose of sharps at the October 26th event:
- you must be a Bedford resident – please have ID;
- sharps must be in leak-proof, rigid, puncture-resistant or shatterproof containers or biohazard containers (typically red in color); and
- the containers must be completely full (no partially full containers will be accepted).
Please keep sharps and medicines separated. Both will be collected at this event. Please remove any identifying information from medication bottles. Please contact the Bedford Board of Health at 781-275-6507 with any questions.
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