UPDATE: Make sure to check this site first. I went to the Fourth District Substation and the lady said they rotate which stations take the drugs on which weeks.
If you’re like me, you probably have a few expired prescriptions laying around — maybe antibiotics or other things that you don’t need anymore. However, you shouldn’t just throw them away or flush them down the drain, they can damage the water supply and and plants and animals that depend on that (including us!) Or worse yet, someone could get a hold of them.
So the government is holding what they’re calling the National Take Back Initiative, helping local organizations collect those old medicines for safe disposal. In DC, the Metropolitan Police Department and the University of the District of Columbia are locations where you can drop off your medicines, no questions asked. They’ll be open on Saturday from 10am-2pm. Here are the locations where they’ll be accepting old medicines:
- First District Station (101 M Street SW)
- First District Sub Station (500 E Street SE)
- Second District Station (3320 Idaho Avenue NW)
- Third District Station (1620 V Street NW)
- Fourth District Station (6001 Georgia Avenue NW)
- Fourth District Sub Station (750 Park Road NW)
- Fifth District Station (1805 Bladensburg Road NE)
- Sixth District Station (100 42nd Street NE)
- Seventh District Station (2455 Alabama Avenue SE)
- UDC Van Ness Street Entrance (4200 Connecticut Ave NW)
There are also other sites around the area you can find here.
Here’s more about the event:
It’s a great time to clean out your medicine cabinet! Protect our kids, families and environment by properly disposing of your unwanted and expired medicines. Medicines in the home are a leading cause of accidental poisoning and flushed or trashed medicines can end up polluting our waters. Rates of prescription drug abuse are alarmingly high – over half of teens abusing medicines get them from a family member or friend, including the home medicine cabinet, and often without their knowledge.
