Westborough – The Westborough Police Dept. announced Oct. 3 that it has installed a Drug Collection Unit funded by a grant from CVS/pharmacy. The new unit will be located at the Westborough Police Station on West Main Street and will provide residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medication, including controlled substances.
“There are many drugs that families find in their homes and our residents need a safe location to dispose of them,” Police Chief Alan Gordon said. “Flushing the drugs down a toilet is not environmentally friendly and just disposing of them in the trash is not a safe option.”
The new unit is intended to reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in residents’ homes and decrease prescription drug abuse, which has soared in recent years, especially among teenagers. It will also help Westborough prevent the contamination of local landfills and water supplies from unused medication.
Westborough’s Drug Collection Unit represents one of 1,000 units CVS/pharmacy and The Medicine Abuse Project, a five-year initiative of The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, are providing across the country. CVS/pharmacy also assists law enforcement by supporting local drug take-back events and promoting local drug disposal collection sites.
“CVS/pharmacy is dedicated to collaborating with organizations like The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and local law enforcement to prevent the abuse of unwanted and expired medication,” said Josh Flum, senior vice president of retail pharmacy at CVS Health. “The installment of drug collection receptacles is part of our ongoing commitment to battle prescription drug abuse in the U.S. and to help people in the communities we serve on their path to better health.”
“We are very happy to partner with CVS to offer this to our residents,” Gordon said.
Westborough’s Drug Collection Unit site is open to the public at all time of the day and drugs can be dropped off with no questions asked. Westborough residents and CVS/pharmacy customers can also inquire about the Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program at 866-559-8830 or visit www.cvs.com/safercommunities.
