Responsible disposal of unwanted, expired, and unused medications has been made more convenient for the residents of Great Neck and surrounding areas thanks to the generous contribution to their community by Precision Pharmacy.
Frank Longo, pharmacist and CEO of Precision Pharmacy, announced that people may dispose of their prescription and over-the-counter medications by depositing their unwanted medications into the Big Red Med Disposal Box which is now operational at Precision Pharmacy, 665 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck. All collected medications will be responsibly disposed of by environmentally safe incineration.
Frank Longo said, “Precision Pharmacy strives to serve its patients, customers and community by offering free, convenient and responsible medication disposal. Getting rid of medications unnecessarily stored in household medicine cabinets helps to prevent misuse and possibly addiction. Precision Pharmacy wants to give our community a responsible method to dispose of opioids and other medications that tend to linger in household medicine cabinets and are subject to diversion, theft and abuse.”
Pharmacist Nick Crespo added, “We also want to protect our drinking water from many kinds of potential contaminants including unwanted medications that might otherwise be flushed into our groundwater.”
“The key to a successful medication disposal program is making medication disposal free, confidential and, most importantly, convenient,” says Thomas McAbee, president of Rx Disposal which supplied the Big Red Med Disposal Box. “We encourage people to keep the medication in its original packaging. Though inhalers and small amounts of liquids wrapped in paper towels and sealed in a plastic bag are acceptable, the Big Red Med Disposal Box cannot accept hydrogen peroxide, needles and illegal drugs. There is no need to cross out personal information on the medicine bottle. Once the medication is deposited into the Big Red Med Disposal Box, the deposited medication will never again be viewed, sorted or counted. It’s confidential and safe.”
Longo and Crespo agreed that having the Big Red Med Disposal Box inside Precision Pharmacy is a great benefit for our community.
Both pharmacists encourage all local residents, whether they use Precision Pharmacy or not, to look inside their household medicine cabinets, remove unwanted medications, and bring them to Precision Pharmacy. Nick Crespo said, “We will greet you with a smile and thank you for participating in responsible medication disposal.” Longo said, “We all need to do our best to keep prescription medications out of the hands of small children who might accidentally ingest medications, and out of the hands of some individuals (especially teens) who might seek to divert medications for non-medical use.
Getting rid of unwanted medications that are unnecessarily stored in household medicine cabinets reduces the chance of prescription drug abuse.” The staff of Precision Pharmacy are committed to the health of their patients, customers and community. Pharmacist Nick Crespo said, “We have a friendly and well-trained staff who always has time to speak with you about your medication, its use and, yes, even its disposal. And don’t forget pet medication – we can dispose of that too.”
The Big Red Med Disposal Box at Precision Pharmacy can’t be missed. It’s big, it’s red and as simple to use as mailing a letter. Just pull open the little door and drop in your unwanted medications regardless of where they were originally bought. It’s free, confidential and convenient. The Big Red Med Disposal Box meets all regulatory requirements of the Drug Enforcement Administration which implements the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010.
