Take Back Day offers nearby medication disposal for Autauga County residents

Autauga County residents who need to clear out unused or expired prescription drugs will have a nearby chance Saturday, April 25, when the 30th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Collection locations in the River Region include Prattville, Millbrook, Montgomery and Wetumpka, giving county families a local option for getting medications out of kitchen cabinets and bathroom drawers before they become a hazard.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says Take Back Day is a safe, convenient, responsible and anonymous way to dispose of prescription drugs. That message carries real weight at home, where forgotten pills can be mistaken for something current, taken by the wrong person, or misused by someone who should not have access to them. Leftover medication can also be stolen, diverted or improperly flushed, creating risks for households and for the broader community.

The event is part of a much larger national effort. The DEA says this year’s campaign will be held at nearly 4,200 locations nationwide. During the October 25, 2025 Take Back Day, 4,263 law enforcement agencies participated and 4,317 collection sites removed 571,054 pounds of unneeded and expired medications. Since the program began in 2010, the agency says nearly 20,391,815 pounds of medications have been collected.

In Alabama, both the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Alabama Department of Public Health describe Take Back Day as a safe, convenient and responsible disposal option. For Autauga County families, the practical choice does not stop with the one-day event. The Autauga County Sheriff’s Office maintains a prescription drop box for year-round disposal, offering another way to keep old medications from lingering in homes.

The campaign lands at a time when safe storage and disposal are part of everyday public health, not just law enforcement. A single bottle of unused pain medicine, anxiety medication or other prescription drug can become an accidental poisoning risk for a child, a temptation for misuse, or a dangerous mix-up for an older adult sorting through multiple prescriptions. With April 25 set and nearby collection points in Prattville and Millbrook, residents have a clear window to act before those pills become someone else’s problem.