Prescription Drug Disposal

Location of Collection Box

The collection box is located in the Police Department Lobby at 121 Alder St SW. This collection unit is available during normal business hours: Monday – Friday 8:00am – 4:30pm.IMG_0178

The collection box that was available in the alley has been closed permanently. 

Through the generosity of KidCents and The Rite Aid Foundation, Ephrata Police Department is pleased to share that a new and larger collection unit was donated to assist in the quest to dispose of expired or unused prescription drugs. We are also thankful to the city staff that helped install the unit in our very small lobby. 

Here are a few tips on how to use the collection box:

  • Empty your pill bottles or boxed medication into quart sized plastic zipper bags. This will help keep the unit from filling up with bulky, half empty bottles and boxes.
  • Ointments, lotions, and liquids MUST have leak-proof lids and be placed in a plastic zipper bag to prevent leakage.
  • Prescriptions that are bubble wrapped are too large to fit in the drop slots. These pills should be emptied into a plastic bag or the bubble packages cut down into several pieces.

This collection unit is for private citizens. Medicines brought in from nursing homes, clinics, doctors’ offices, or any other entity which distributes medications will not be accepted. These types of agencies should be utilizing the outside, private resources available to them.

What happens to the drugs after they have been collected?

After each collection, police staff will seal the box and weigh it. It is then stored for a trip to the Spokane Waste to Energy Plant where it will be placed into a giant steel claw and dropped directly into the incinerator.

WE CANNOT ACCEPT SHARPS (NEEDLES, SYRINGES, LANCETS).

Disposing of Sharps:

Use a study plastic bottle or a tin can to collect your used sharps, no more than three quarters (¾) full. Once full, duct tape the lid closed, write “SHARPS” on the container with a permanent marker, then throw it away with your regular garbage.

  • Empty laundry detergent bottles and coffee tin cans are perfect
  • Don’t use plastic milk bottles or soda bottles; sharps will puncture right through these!

Consolidated Disposal Services, Inc (CDSI) allows for private citizens to place these containers in your trash bags for regular garbage pickup.

Questions?

If you have any questions about how to dispose of prescription medications, sharps or any other biohazard, call Heather in Evidence at 754-2491.