This past Saturday, October 25 the Allegany Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc. (ACASA), the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, Alfred Station Fire Company and Belfast Fire and Rescue Department, and Partners for Prevention in Allegany County (PPAC) held their biannual pill drop event in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Take Back Day. Community members brought 19.4 pounds of unwanted or unused medications they wanted to dispose of properly. The agencies use the pill drops to educate the community on the fourteen Take It to the Box locations that are throughout Allegany County, that can be used to dispose of medications year-round for free. The partners also educated about the availability to dispose of needles at any of the Allegany County transfer stations for free. Community members are asked to put needles into a puncture proof container like a laundry detergent bottle with the cap securely on. Allegany County is one of the very few counties in New York that offers this service for free.
Alfred Station and Belfast were chosen to be the Fall pill drop locations to help educate about the closest Take It to the Box locations at Alfred Pharmacy, Alfred University, Fillmore Pharmacy and Nicholson Pharmacy in Belmont.
6 cars came to the two locations to drop off medications. Even though the pill drop events do not collect as much medication as in the past the Take It to the Box locations have collected 1096.9 pounds of medications so far in 2025. Each person who dropped medications off received a Take It to the Box magnet. All medications that are collected are taken to an incinerating location by the Sheriff’s Office to make the medications harmless to the environment and useless to people.
“It is important for people to not flush medications as they are harmful to our environment,” states PPAC Coalition Coordinator Jon Chaffee. “Studies have shown that when medications are put down the drain, they find their way into our waterways and fish.”
The partners would like to “Thank” the Alfred Station Fire Company and Belfast Fire and Rescue Department for providing space for the Fall Pill Drop and the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office for handling the medications to make sure they are disposed of properly and maintaining the Take It to the Box locations.
If community members were unable to make the Fall Pill Drop, they can also dispose of their medications properly anytime at: Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, Cuba Pharmacy, Cuba Police Department, Fisher’s Pharmacy, Friendship Pharmacy, Jones Memorial Hospital, Jones Memorial Medical Practices in Andover and Boliver, and Tri-County Family Medicine in Canaseraga, and the Wellsville Police Department.
The next pill drop event will be held in April of 2026. To find out more information on the Take It to the Box locations visit www.ppaccentral.org/takeittothebox/. If you want to know more information about the National Take Back Day or find other locations you can visit https://www.dea.gov/takebackday. For questions people can also reach out to Coalition Coordinator Jonathan Chaffee by emailing ppac@alleganycouncil.org or calling (585) 593 – 1920.
Remember Prevention Works!