Lexington citizens with unwanted, unused or outdated medicines can dispose of them for free in an environmentally-friendly way at the city’s Med Toss, Police Chief Ronnie Bastin announced today. This will be the third year in a row that residents have been able to safely dispose of medications during Med Toss.
Med Toss will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, April 28, at four locations across the city. The event will be held rain or shine. VIDEO CLIP OF THE EVENT.
Proper disposal of medicines is a public safety and environmental concern.
“Med Toss is always a great community service too, but it’s also a crime fighting tool it keeps prescription drugs out the hands of those who would abuse them or sell them illegally. That’s important, because prescription drug abuse is a growing criminal and social problem in our community. I encourage everyone to partner with the police and the city to keep Lexington safe, by tossing your meds on April 28,” said Lexington Police Chief Ronnie Bastin.
Each previous Med Toss event has resulted in the safe collection of several hundred pounds of prescription and non-prescription medication and paraphernalia.
Citizens should keep the medicines in their original containers and mark out the personal information on the bottle. Prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, liquids and pills will be accepted.
For the April 28 Med Toss, citizens should bring their medications to one of these four locations:
- Division of Police Roll Call Facility - 1165 Centre Parkway
- Kentucky American Water - 2300 Richmond Road
- Dunbar High School – 1600 Man-O-War Boulevard
- Wal Mart - 2350 Grey Lag Way (Hamburg)
Med Toss is made possible by the Lexington Division of Police, the Lexington Department of Environmental Quality and Public Works, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky American Water, the Mayor’s Alliance on Substance Abuse, the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy, the University of Kentucky School of Pharmacy, Bluegrass PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
For more information about Med Toss, please contact LexCall at 3-1-1 or (859) 425-2255, or visit the website at www.Lexingtonky.gov/Medtoss.
If a citizen can’t participate in the Med Toss on April 28, they should take a few small steps that will help safeguard lives and protect the environment by disposing of unused medicines properly:
- Pour or place medication into a sealable plastic bag.
- If medication is in a pill or capsule form, crush and/or add liquid to it.
- Add kitty litter, coffee grounds or other solids to the medication to make it less appealing to children and pets/animals.
- Seal the plastic bag and put it in the trash.
- Remove/destroy ALL personal information on labels and containers before throwing them into the trash.
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PHOTO CAPTION: Chief Ronnie Bastin at the event.