Queen Creek to take part in national drug take-back event

The Queen Creek Police Department is taking part in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day later this month.

Police will be collecting unused or expired prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Fry’s at 25101 S. Ellsworth Road.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, held in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, provides people with an opportunity to safely dispose of unused, unwanted and expired prescriptions.

Collection sites will not accept liquids, gels, inhalants or syringes during the event.

In April, QCPD announced that it would no longer be collecting prescription drugs for disposal during QC Recycles events.

The department stated that it could no longer use its planned incinerator program for medication disposal due to state and federal regulatory requirements.

Properly disposing of prescription medication will now require the department to contract with an out-of-state vendor, “which would result in significant costs,” according to an April email from the QCPD.

“We will continue to support and participate in the (Drug Enforcement Agency’s) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events when possible, and we are actively exploring cost-effective, compliant solutions that could enable us to host additional QCPD-sponsored take-back events in the future,” Chief Randy Brice stated in the email.