Local medicine take-back day a success

A prescription drug take-back day held earlier this summer yielded 215 pounds of waste pharmaceuticals in Flathead County and was the second-biggest collection in the state.

Only Yellowstone County, where Billings is the county seat, collected more waste drugs.

“It was pretty darn successful here,” Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty told the county commissioners on Wednesday. “We hope it will be an annual thing.”

Called Operation Medicine Cabinet, the project is a collaborative effort that got under way this year statewide at the encouragement of Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock.

Citizens for a Better Flathead’s WasteNot Project is the coordinating agency for Flathead County; other partners include the Solid Waste District and Northwest Montana Drug Task Force.

Federal law requires that waste pharmaceuticals be turned over to a law-enforcement officer for disposal.

Another take-back day is scheduled Sept. 27, and the plan is to have an annual collection event each spring, WasteNot coordinator Mayre Flowers said.

“There’s a lot of interest in finding a better solution to disposing of leftover medicine,” Flowers said.

Flushing medicines is bad for the environment, and storing unwanted medicine — particularly drugs such as OxyContin — can be a target for people seeking to obtain them and use them illegally.

Prunty said “it’s amazing how much abuse there is with old pills. Getting those out of circulation is a big piece of the puzzle.”

WasteNot has produced a brochure that explains the need to reduce access to prescription drugs and dispose of them properly. The brochures will be available next week at pharmacies throughout Flathead County.

For more information call the WasteNot Project at 756-8993.