Take your unused medications to a King Kullen pharmacy for free and protect Long Island’s water resources.
Pharmaceutical contamination is a growing threat to waterways throughout the nation. Trace amount of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics and pain killers, have been detected in trace amounts in Suffolk County drinking water wells. For decades, residents were told to simply flush unwanted medications, but now we know better. Providing residents with convenient, safe pharmaceutical disposal options is essential to prevent the flushing of unused medications and protect Long Island’s drinking and surface waters.
In 2015, King Kullen installed Medsafe boxes in all 11 of their pharmacies, and last year they expanded their program to be able to collect narcotics as well. Over the last three years, the Don’t Flush Your Drugs program has collected over 7,000 POUNDS of unused drugs. There is clearly a great need for safe drug disposal options on Long Island, and the amount of medication being brought to King Kullen has been steadily increasing as public awareness of this program grows.
The King Kullen drop boxes were installed with funding from New York State, and their program is a successful model of NYS working with local businesses and stakeholders to provide the public with free, convenient safe disposal options. King Kullen also stands as the first supermarket pharmacy in New York State to be a certified collector of narcotics by the Federal DEA, and will inspire others to follow their path.
Don’t Flush Your Drugs is advertised across Long Island in King Kullen locations and on Citizens Campaign for the Environment’s website, but expanding public knowledge of this program is crucial. With funding from a NYS grant, the King Kullen program will soon be advertised at 6 movie theaters across Long Island. Starting November 17th, these ads will focus on grabbing the attention of Long Island moviegoers and attract them to the take-back program rather than letting pharmaceuticals sit in medicine cabinets in the reach of family members, or at risk of being flushed.
Locations where Don’t Flush Your Drugs advertisements will be displayed:
United Artists Farmingdale
United Artists Hicksville
Mattituck Cinema
Movieland Cinema in Coram
Sayville Cinema
Look out for the ads at a theater near you! For more information on where you can safely drop off unused pharmaceuticals, please visit this page.
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