CANANDAIGUA – Thompson Health, the Partnership For Ontario County, Inc. and the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office are hosting a medication drop-off on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 9 a.m. to noon in the Sands Cancer Center parking lot at Thompson Hospital.
The purpose of the event is to collect and properly dispose of unwanted and outdated prescription and over-the-counter medications, keeping them out of the wrong hands and out of the watershed.
The Sands Cancer Center parking lot faces West Street and is just south of the Eye Care Center. Volunteers will direct community members’ vehicles to a section of the lot for a drive-by drop-off, overseen by deputies. Pharmacists will be on hand to answer any questions. The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office will then deliver collected medications to Covanta Niagara for immediate incineration. Consequently, there is no need to obscure any identifying information on the containers themselves.
Household wastes, pesticides, and similar items will not be collected at this event. Residents who have mercury or mercury-containing devices will be instructed to hold that material until the next Ontario County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Day.
Since 2010, more than 3 tons of unwanted medications have been collected in Ontario County. In addition to the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office, the Partnership For Ontario County and Thompson Health, the initiative includes the Ontario County Office of the Aging, Ontario County Office of Planning, Ontario County Public Health, Finger Lakes Visiting Nurse Service, Lifetime Care Home Health, Turnings (an Ontario County substance abuse prevention/treatment program), the Canandaigua Police Department and others.