This past Saturday, April 25 from 10am to 2pm the Allegany Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc. (ACASA), the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, the Angelica Fire and Rescue, Wellsville Volunteer Fire 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. 14 cars brought over 58 pounds of unused or expired medication. The agencies use the pill drop events to educate the community on proper disposal of medications and needles and the availability of the fourteen Take It to the Box locations that are throughout Allegany County. The Take It to the Box locations offer community members the opportunity to dispose of medications year-round for free. Allegany County residents also can 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.

In the past people were advised to flush unwanted to expired medications down the sink or toilet. Scientific studies showed that medications were being found in water supplies and fish, which led to the first medication take back programs. Pill Drop events have been held in Allegany County since 2008. All medications are collected by the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office and taken to an incinerating location that makes the medications harmless to the environment and unusable by people.

“Educating the community on the resources that are available to them all year with the Take It to the Box locations and needle disposal at the Allegany County transfer stations is important,” states PPAC Coalition Coordinator Jon Chaffee. “People cannot use resources they do not know exist,” states Chaffee.

The partners would like to “Thank” the Angelica Fire and Rescue and Wellsville Volunteer Fire Departments for providing space and support for the 2026 Spring Pill Drop.

The next pill drop event will be held in October of 2026. To find out where all the Take It to the Box locations are located throughout Allegany County 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.