Substance abuse and the opioid crisis continue to be important public health concerns in the U.S. Every year, 16 million Americans over the age of 12 deliberately misuse prescription drugs, with opioids accounting for four out of every five pharmacy-filled medications, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.

These stark numbers are why the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s National Prescription Take Back Day, which happens twice each year, is a crucial component for helping to remove unused prescription drugs from homes.

The event, which takes place at numerous official collection sites next on Saturday, October 28 between 10 a.m. and 2p.m., provides people with safe and convenient options to responsibly discard drugs.

During the last Take Back Day held in April, nearly 664,000 pounds of unneeded prescription medications were safely disposed of at nearly 5,000 collection sites nationwide.

To find a October 28 collection site near you, visit the National Take Back Initiative Collection Site Search or call 800-882-9539.

While National Prescription Take Back Day is a specific opportunity to take action, many communities also have established drug disposal sites available for use throughout the year. Use the Drug Disposal Locator Tool to view year-round locations nearest to you.

If a site is not readily available, you can:

1. Mix your liquid or pill medicines with an unappealing substance such as dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds (do not crush the tablets or capsules);
2. Put the mixture into a container, such as a sealed plastic bag;
3. Throw away the container in your at-home trash;

Bottles and packaging can be disposed of through regular at-home trash collection or recycling. Be sure to remove all personal information on the prescription label before doing so.

There are also specific safety guidelines for disposing injectable drugs. All needles and syringes for injectable medications should be placed in a sharps disposal container immediately after use. The container can later be disposed of at various designated sites found using the year-round drug disposal locator tool.

Adhering to expiration dates – for both prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs found in your medicine cabinet – is more important than you might think, as there is no guarantee that a medicine will be safe and effective past the expiration date. For example, certain expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth. An old antibiotic pill can fail to treat infections, which can lead to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance.  If you aren’t sure of a medicine’s expiration date, dispose of it appropriately.

“We’re all aware of the prevalence of prescription drug abuse and its ability to grip any and every demographic in our country but sometimes stop short of taking action because we assume the issue is bigger than us – and that’s untrue,” said Randy Hanna, RPh and vice president of Pharmacy at Blue Cross. “Through a combination of efforts like the DEA’s Take Back Day and becoming knowledgeable about ways to responsibly dispose, the amount of prescriptions available for misuse decreases dramatically. Every one of us can easily do our part by taking this first step.”