Community Members Clean Out Medicine Cabinets at Fall Pill Drop

Published on by alleganycouncil

Belfast and Whitesville– On Saturday, October 23 the Allegany County Fall Pill Drop was held in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Belfast and Whitesville were chosen for the fall locations.  The pill drop event allows the community to drop off unused, expired, or unwanted medications, vape devices, and provides the opportunity for education on the location of the pill drop boxes in the various communities.

This event was held in partnership with the Allegany Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc.(ACASA), the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, and Partners for Prevention in Allegany County(PPAC). Medications were accepted from 10am to 2pm, and between the two locations, a total of 30 cars participated and 61.8 pounds of medications were collected.

Each car that stopped received a Take It To The Box magnet, which lists all of the pill drop box locations throughout Allegany County, which includes: the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office and Nicholson Pharmacy in Belmont, Alfred Pharmacy and Alfred State’s Office of University Police, Cuba Police Department, Fillmore Pharmacy, Friendship Pharmacy, Jones Memorial Medical Practice in Bolivar, Wellsville Police Department and the Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville. This calendar year, 722.8 pounds of medications have been collected from the pill drop box locations.

“The pill drop boxes continue to be a great asset to our county. By utilizing these boxes to dispose of unused medication, it ensures their safe destruction which prevents possible abuse. The drop boxes are conveniently located at various locations across the County and are easy to use. We continue to encourage all of our residents to take advantage of this program” said Undersheriff Scott Cicirello.

The pill drop events and boxes are completely anonymous and confidential. The collected medications are transported to an undisclosed location for incineration by the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office. Incinerating the medications makes them harmless to the environment. “The pill drop events allow us to educate the community on the importance of safe storage, safe disposal, and where the drop boxes are located throughout the county” states PPAC Coordinator Jonathan Chaffee. “We are currently working on establishing two more Take It to the Box locations, which would help outlying communities properly dispose of unwanted and unused medications.”

Allegany County also has free sharps/needle disposal available at all Allegany County Transfer Stations. The days and times that these locations are open are different per location. Below is a listed of all the locations.

  • Alfred, 394 Satterlee Hill Road. Open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.
  • Belmont, 6006 County Road 48. Open Tuesday through Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.
  • Bolivar, 135 Reed Street. Open Wednesday and Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.
  • Canaseraga, 89 West Main Street. Open Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.
  • Caneadea, 9425 Molyneaux Road. Open Wednesday and Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.
  • Cuba/Friendship, 7912 County Road 20. Open Thursday and Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.
  • Wellsville, 77 Dyke Street. Open Tuesday through Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.

For any questions on the Allegany County Sharps Disposal Program contact Recycling Coordinator Tim Palmiter (585) 268-7282.

The agencies involved would like to send out a special “Thank You” to the Belfast Fire Department and Independence Emergency Squad for giving us a space to hold the pill drop event. The next pill drop event will be held in April, 2022.  More information about the pill drop box locations can be found at https://ppaccentral.org/takeittothebox/ .