LAYTON -- In Davis County, 814 pounds of unused prescription and over-the-counter medicines was collected as part of the national "clean out your medicine cabinet" fall campaign.
Those medicines were immediately destroyed following the event.
The temporary drop-off points for the unused pharmaceuticals were made available on Oct. 29 across the country. Nationwide, those participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day turned in more than 377,086 pounds of unwanted or expired medications at 5,327 take-back sites.
In Utah, 3,968 pounds of prescriptions drugs were collected that day, according to the Denver Division of the DEA,
"We are happy with the amount we collected," said Debi Todd, prevention coordinator for Davis behavioral Health Inc., a local sponsor of the event.
The total collected at the temporary drop-off sites made available at some local grocery stores and Hill Air Force Base, topped the 654 pounds of medicines collected in the county in the fall of 2010, but was short of the 996 pounds collected in April of 2011, Todd said.
"We think with a little more advertising, April's (2012) event will be just as, if not more successful," she said.
The intent of the event is to keep unused medicines out of the hands of youth, and ensure medicines are properly being disposed of so that they do not harm the environment by being flushed down the toilet.
A similar effort that same day took place in Weber County. Between two drop-off points more than 272 pounds of medicines was collected, Weber-Morgan County Health spokeswoman Lori Buttars said.
All medicines collected in the two counties were immediately incinerated at the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management plant in Layton.
"We don't fool around with that stuff," Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District CEO and Executive Director Nathan Rich said.
Many expired pharmaceuticals are destroyed at the plant where it has a waste incinerator.
The Weber-Davis community has secured permanent drug disposal boxes available at the different police stations.
The amount of prescription drugs turned in by the public during the take-back-day events speaks volumes about the need to develop a convenient way to rid homes of unwanted or expired prescription drugs, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said.
Studies show the majority of teens who abuse prescription drugs obtain them from family and friends for free, including from the home medicine cabinet, according to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
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