Students can safely dispose of old medications in the new “MedReturn Drug Collection Unit,” located in the Police and Safety office.

As one of 13 such units in the Erie area, the bright green MedReturn unit is certainly bringing the community one step closer to the permanent drug collection ideal that president of MedReturn, Mike Mayer, testified before congress about.

“Our involvement in the issue of prescription drug abuse stems from the commitment to provide a safe, secure, sustainable and environmentally friendly way to help law enforcement agencies and communities collect unwanted or expired prescription medication and over the counter drugs,” he said.
Sami Rapp photo: The MedReturn Drug Collection Unit, located in the Police and Safety office, is intended to keep medications of any sort out of the water supplies and trash disposals across the Erie community.
Mayer also spoke about his dedication to establishing a drug collection unit at the grassroots level during his 2011 testimony.

According to Mayer, research has shown that many unwanted or expired household and prescription medications are improperly disposed of in the U.S.

Some of the very harmful methods used to discard these medications include flushing the drugs down toilets or putting them into garbage that is in risk of being picked up once disposed. Both of these methods have damaging effects on the environment and needlessly pollute the local water supplies.

Chief of Police and Safety, Robert Kuhn, recently issued a statement to students and staff about the new Drug Collection Unit that has been installed near the Police and Safety offices in McAuley Hall.

“This is an important step,” he said in regards to the installation. “[The unit] is helping to keep prescription drugs out of the water supply and away from children.”

For a full list of approved items that may be dropped off, please contact the Police and Safety office, located in McAuley Hall or contact the office at (814) 824-2261.