National Take-Back Day offers collections set up across the Lehigh Valley for unused, unwanted or expired medicine.
Communities throughout the Lehigh Valley and northwestern New Jersey are collecting unused prescription drugs Saturday to be destroyed.
Prescription drugs are collected April 28, 2012, by authorities in Salem, New Jersey. (NJ Advance Media file photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) The aim of the National Take-Back Day is to keep these unwanted and expired medicines out of homes, where they may lead to accidental poisoning, and out of the environment, where they can pollute water, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Rates of prescription drug abuse are alarmingly high," the DEA adds in a news release. "Over half of teens abusing medicines get them from a family member or friend, including the home medicine cabinet, and often without their knowledge."
The DEA incinerates the drugs, authorities said.
Drug take-back offered in Lehigh County
Here's where to safely dispose of medications 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, with the law enforcement agency coordinating the effort:
Lehigh County
Catasauqua Police Department, 118 Bridge St., Catasauqua.
Fountain Hill Police Department, 941 Long St., Fountain Hill.
Supremo Foods, 602 N. Seventh St., Allentown, coordinated by Allentown Police Department.
Emmaus Police Department, 400 Jubilee St., Emmaus.
Camp Olympic, 3120 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania State Police.
Upper Saucon Township Police Department, 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Upper Saucon Township.
South Whitehall Township Police Department, 4444 Walbert Ave., South Whitehall Township.
Whitehall Township Bureau of Police, 3731 Lehigh St., Whitehall Township.
South Mall, 3300 Lehigh St., Salisbury Township, Salisbury Township Police Department.
Giant, 3015 W. Emmaus Ave., Allentown, Allentown police.
Upper Macungie Township Police Department, 37 Grim Road, Upper Macungie Township.
Westgate Mall (main entrance), 2285 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem Police Department.
Northampton County
Bath Drug, 310 S. Walnut St., Bath, Colonial Regional Police Department.
Lower Saucon Township Police Department, 3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Lower Saucon Township.
Giant, 859 Nazareth Pike (Route 191) Lower Nazareth Township, Colonial Regional police.
Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast, 654 Bangor Road (Route 191) Plainfield Township.
Giant, 801 S. 25th St., Palmer Township, Palmer Township Police Department.
CVS Pharmacy, 4950 Freemansburg Ave., Bethlehem Township, Bethlehem Township Police Department.
Tatamy Municipal Building, 423 Broad St., Tatamy, Tatamy Police Department.
Wegmans, 5000 Wegmans Drive, Hanover Township, Colonial Regional police.
Giant, 3926 Nazareth Pike (Route 191), Bethlehem Township, Bethlehem Township police.
Youngs' Pharmacy, 3709 Freemansburg Ave., Bethlehem Township, Bethlehem Township police.
Northwestern New Jersey
Mansfield Township Police Department, 100 Port Murray Road, Mansfield Township.
Hunterdon County Justice Center, 65 Park Ave., Flemington.
Holland Township Police Department, 61 Church Road, Holland Township.
Readington Township Police Department, 507 Route 523 in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington Township.
High Bridge Police Department, 99 W. Main St., High Bridge.
Clinton Township Police Department, 1370 Route 31, Clinton Township.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.