Local News | Drug take-back day is Saturday

Schuylkill County residents are encouraged to throw away unwanted, expired or unused prescription medications Saturday as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

The collection will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 20 locations around the county and is valuable, said Sheriff Joseph Groody.

Groody said prescription drugs can fall into the wrong hands and “that's dangerous and all too often tragic.”

He encouraged residents to take part in the campaign, which takes place every April and October.

No questions will be asked.

Items not accepted include glass containers, intravenous solutions, injectables, syringes and controlled substances such as marijuana and methamphetamines.

In April, 985 pounds of drugs were collected in the county, the third highest collection in 20 years.

Last October, 751 pounds of drugs were collected.

A Drug Enforcement Agency representative will pick up the drugs next week for disposal at an incinerator near Philadelphia.

“It’s a great event,” Ashland Police Chief Gerard Daley said Wednesday.

Local drop-off locations available for the event include:

• Ashland Police Department, 401 S. 18th St.
• Butler Twp. Police Department, 211 Broad St. Fountain Springs
• Frackville Police Department, 42 S. Center St., Frackville
• Lehigh Valley Hospital, 700 E. Norwegian St.
• Mahanoy City Police Department, 239 E. Pine St.
• Mechanicsville Police Department, 301 First Second St.
• Minersville Police Department, 15 N. Delaware Ave.
• Orwigsburg Police Department, 209 N. Warren St.
• Palo Alto Police Department, 142 E. Bacon St.
• Pine Grove Police Department, One Snyder Drive
• Port Carbon Police Department, 90 Washington St.
• Rush Twp. Police Department, 104 Mahanoy Ave., Tamaqua
• Saint Clair Police Department, 24 N. Second St.
• Saint Luke's Miners Campus, 360 W. Ruddle St. Coaldale
• Schuylkill County Courthouse (security entrance), 401 N. Second St. Pottsville
• Schuylkill Haven Police Department, 220 Park Ave., Schuylkill Haven
• Shenandoah Police Department, 15 W. Washington St.
• Tamaqua Police Department, 320 Broad St.
• West Penn Twp. Police Department, 5 Municipal Road, New Ringgold
• West Mahanoy Twp. Police Department, 190 Pennsylvania Ave.

Originally published: October 23, 2024 at 9:13 p.m