Letters to Editor: Rx 4 Safety

Prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic in the United States.  According to Trust for America’s Health, prescription drug-related deaths now outnumber those from heroin and cocaine combined, and drug overdose deaths exceed motor vehicle-related deaths in over half of U.S. states. How can we protect our communities, especially our children, from getting their hands on medications not prescribed for them?

Drug take back days like the upcoming DEA Take Back Day on October 26 and the secure drop boxes available 24/7 located at each of Suffolk County Police Department’s seven precinct offices  provide an easy, no-questions-asked way to get rid of unused or unwanted drugs.  In Smithtown, Covanta Energy’s Rx4Safety program works hand-in-hand with community organizations such as the SCPD’s Operation Medicine Cabinet and Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment, educating the community not only on the public health & safety aspects of the proper disposal of unwanted or unused prescription drugs, but equally on the environmental importance of safe disposal to protect precious groundwater supplies on Long Island.

Covanta provides the safe disposal and ultimate destruction of these prescription drugs at our Huntington energy-from-waste facility, keeping these medications out of the hands of potential abusers, and lessening the pollution of our waterways, where drugs can end up if they are flushed or sent to landfills.  

Thanks to partnerships like the one with Operation Medicine Cabinet and Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment, Covanta’s Rx4Safety program has been able to securely destroy One Million Pounds of unwanted prescription medication across the country since 2010.  While the milestone is impressive, our work is not done. We must continue to be diligent in fighting this epidemic and it’s thanks to the exceptional leadership of our partners that we are beginning to make a difference in keeping our communities safer and healthier.  Help spread the word about this important public safety and environmental issue and make sure to dispose of medications properly!

Jeff George

Business Manager