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It time of year again. No, not Halloween (although that is coming 🙂
No, I mean it’s the semi-annual Drug Take Back Day this Saturday. Despite the shutdown, it looks like it’s still on the books to take place. So, get all your outdated RX bottles, check out your local participating drop-off, and get it all taken care of.
Then get ready for Halloween!
With all that is going on in the world these days, one might be forgiven for letting Earth Day slip their mind this year. Sadly, many will probably overlook it entirely, but now we should be revisiting the importance of this day more than ever. It’s time we returned out attention to Earth Day.
I won’t list all the eco catastrophies we’ve had in the last 12 months. For one thing you’ve heard it all before, and for another, unfortunately there are so many the list really wouldn’t fit in this space. Suffice it to say, there’s been a lot, and as such, there’s even more work to do to fix the situation. Despite the heavy need, there’s still so many other problems right now, that eco awareness is both higher than it’s been for a while, and yet equally not being acknowledged in everyday activities on a large scale.
Increasing awareness amongst all the generations is key to fighting this problem, but that is easier said than done. Various organizations and businesses have noticed though, and are wading in to help. This includes companies like Kleenex issuing a special ‘National Parks’ themed packaging line, Disney releasing their Earth Day centric reusable bag line, and LEGO putting out a Recycling Truck builder kit (see image above).
The semiannual Drug Take Back Day will take place on Saturday 4/27, just at the tail end of Earth Week, in an attempt to prevent not only drug misuse, but also to prevent unwanted drugs from ending up in our waterways. The EPA has a variety of online resources to help you teach your children about the importance of the day as well. There’s also some free Earth Day templates for you to use on Instagram, to help promote Earth Day awareness. Many private citizens will be out doing beach, forest, and park cleanups this week too. I know it might seem like the message is getting buried under the avalanche of bad news coming at us from so many directions, but it’s important that you remember you’re not alone. Others do care, and we all need each other to pitch n and help, if we’re going to succeed in making it better. The UN just put out a statement saying that we only have approx two years left to really mitigate any future to climate related problems.
So, regardless if you celebrate by attending an event, working on spreading Earth Day awareness, or by taking stock of your own eco street cred, the important thing is that you do in fact celebrate it, and pitch in.
Happy Earth Day Everyone.
This is just a brief reminder that today is the day to take in your old medications for proper disposal. Check out the DEA website for locations near you, and have a Happy Halloween!
Although it is a bit easier than it used to be to properly dispose of old medications, it’s still important to stay on top of unwanted drugs that might be in your household. One way to stay on track with this task is to take advantage of the DEA’s twice yearly reminder, AKA Drug Take Back Day. Every April and October, the DEA sets up locations around the nation, where you can easily drop off medications for free. This time around it will be taking place on Saturday, October 28th, 2023 (note: most locations will be operating from 10am to 2pm.)
So, what’s the trick, you ask? Well, this year, if you do a search on the official site for your nearest drop-off location, then you might be confused about why your regular spot seems to be missing. Although it’s nice to see more options than you would have found in the past, it was a bit of a shock to find that none of the typical locations were listed. Local police stations, for example, seem to be missing.
However, there’s no need to panic just yet. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your usual drop off location isn’t participating, it could just be that it has been moved to the year-round location list instead. If so, then you might just find that they aren’t doing a pop up location, simply because they now have a permanent drop-off bin on-site (which should offer ongoing convenience it they do). To be sure, just call them directly for the most current local information. No one wants to spend Saturday morning driving around, trying to find an alternative location at the last minute after all.
No matter how you manage to get it done, please just make sure you try to get it done the right way. We need everyone participating on this, sadly for more reasons than one.
Ok, so you forgot about Drug Take Back Day last month. Now you’re staring at a bunch of pills, thinking you’re going to have to store these until the next drop off day in October? As the title says, Don’t Panic? There’s more options now than there used to be.
The official Drug Take Back Day usually is held in April and October. For a long time, that really was your only chance to safely dispose of expired, excess prescription medication for free. However, that changed because of an unfortunate perfect storm, comprised of accidental consumption of pills by kids, the opioid epidemic, and a growing concern over groundwater contamination. Now there’s more than one convenient way to get this job taken care of. Whichever of the options below you choose, just remember to either remove your personal info from the bottle, or use a sharpie to cover it up, before you drop it off!
This is just a reminder that this Saturday, April 30th is Drug Take Back Day. Remember to remove any personal identifying information (such as labels) before you turn them in to your local drop off location. Want to go the extra green mile this year? Then also take a moment to gather up any old batteries you might have laying around, so that you can properly recycle them too. Earthday might be over, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook until next year.
This time of year, most people are starting to plan for all those fun Fall and Halloween things they look forward to all year. While seeking out the perfect costume, and enjoying that fifth pumpkin spiced latte of the week, don’t forget to prep for some of the serious stuff too. Yeah, I know that making an appointment to get your flu shot isn’t nearly as much fun as planning that pumpkin patch visit, but it still needs to be done. Similarly, cleaning out your medicine cabinet, and making sure the contents get disposed of properly is just another part of adulting these days.
This Fall’s National Drug Take Back Day will take place on Saturday, October 23rd. The official website (takebackday.dea.gov) will soon have all the info you’ll need to find a drop-off location near you. Just remember to remove all labels while sorting out the bottles that need to go. Helping to keep dangerous prescriptions out of the hands of kids, and keeping our waterways clean and drug free, is all of our responsibility.
#HappyFall everyone. 🍂🍂🍂🍂
Practically-Green.com 