Public Disposes of Medications Safely on “Take Back Tuesday”

Medicines will be incinerated after being collected

FARGO, N.D. — Fargo Cass Public Health had a place for people to dump their over-the-counter and prescription medications as part of “Take Back Tuesday.”

Not only is it a way to make sure your medicine doesn’t end up in the wrong hands, but it’s also better for the environment.

“First, it’s good for the environment. We don’t want them ending up in a landfill, or ending up being flushed down the toilet where they could end up in our water system or our groundwater. We don’t want them to be misused. We don’t want children to be poisoned by them, and we don’t want them to be taken to be sold, diverted, or used in that way,” Robyn Litke Sall, the substance abuse prevention coordinator at Fargo Cass Public Health, said.

Take Back Tuesday turned out to be convenient for some people in Fargo.

“I was doing some spring cleaning and happen to have some extra medication and I didn’t know where to take it so I Googled who would take old medication. I found out they were having a take back medication day and it worked out,” Deanna Schwehr, a Fargo resident, said.

Fargo Cass does their Take Back program multiple times a year, and you don’t have to worry about the label on your medicine because they will be incinerated after you drop them off.

“Take Back” has been part of North Dakota since 2009. Organizers say since then, 11 tons of medication have been collected.

“It is considered a best practice for reducing access to prescription medications including opioids. We know that it’s effective,” Litke Sall said.

“There was just a news story about how someone was asking to use people’s bathrooms and they were rifling through the medicine cabinets.  People don’t need to hold onto medicine longer than they’re using it. It’s really important just to clean it out and get it out of the house,” Schwehr said.

You don’t have to wait for another Take Back day to get rid of your medications. You can dispose of them at any police station in Fargo or Moorhead as well.