Chicopee hosts prescription Drug Take Back Day event

Today, residents in Chicopee had the chance to safely get rid of unused or expired prescription medications at Price Rite on Memorial Drive. It's all part of the 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, an effort led by the USDA alongside local law enforcement. Officials say keeping unused prescriptions at home can put children and other family members at risk. Prescription opioids are among the most commonly misused pain medications. The event also keeps harmful waste out of the environment. We do this twice a year. We do it in April and we also do it in October now and each time we have a major haul that we bring to the facility and it's in it put in an incinerator and burned and disposed of safely. During the last Take Back Day in April more than 642,000 pounds of medications were collected nationwide and since the program began And in 2010, more than 21 million pounds have been collected.