The Knoxville Police Department along with the Knox County and City of Knoxville Solid Waste Offices, the Knox County Health Department and other members of the East Tennessee Regional Medication Collection Coalition will be on hand to accept unused, unwanted, and expired medications from residences/households on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Ingles parking lot at 430 E. Emory Road.

The goal of the collection is to prevent prescription and over-the-counter medications from getting into the waterways, into the hands of children and to make sure they are disposed of in a safe, environmentally-friendly manner. Medication collection events and programs are part of a nationwide effort to reduce the amount of pharmaceutical products being flushed or poured down drains.

What we take:

• Unwanted, outdated and expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications
• Veterinarian prescribed pet medications
• Unused sharp medicines such as epinephrine allergy injections and insulin
• Unused pricking devices for monitors will be taken as long as they are still in the packaging and have never been used

Used needles and other sharps should be disposed by placing the sharps/needles in a sealed plastic container (like an empty bleach bottle) and putting that in with your household waste.

Residents can also utilize the permanent drop-off box at the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) Safety Building at 800 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue. The box is located inside the Safety Building's lobby and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. KPD maintains a secure collection container there on a permanent basis. Contact Officer Craig McNew at 865-215-7031 for more details about the permanent drop box.

For more information on local medication collection events visit www.medicationcollection.org or contact Rachel Butzler at City of Knoxville Solid Waste at 865-215-2053, Zach Johnson at Knox County Solid Waste 865-215-5865 (ext 0) or Officer Craig McNew with the Knoxville Police Department at 865-215-7031.

This event is sponsored by: the Knoxville Police Department, Knox County and City of Knoxville Solid Waste Offices, Knox County Health Department, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, UT Academy of Student Pharmacists, KUB, the Metropolitan Drug Commission, WBIR and Moe’s Southwest Grill.