Castle Pines adds new prescription drug take-back site April 25

Kitchen cabinets and bathroom drawers can hide a quiet risk: expired painkillers, half-used antibiotics and old cough syrup that should not sit around a home where children, teens or pets can find them. Castle Pines will add a new drop-off site at the Castle Pines Market Place Shopping Center parking lot, the former Safeway site at 560 East Castle Pines Parkway, when National Prescription Drug Take Back Day runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25.

The City of Castle Pines is partnering with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District on the new location, which gives residents a closer option for clearing out unused medications without tossing them in the trash or flushing them. A second local drop-off site will also operate that day at the Highlands Ranch Substation, 9250 Zotos Drive, extending the reach of the countywide effort across northern Douglas County.

Accepted items include prescription pills, over-the-counter medications, liquid products in their original tightly sealed containers and e-cigarettes without batteries. The site will not accept thermometers, needles or sharps, medication or medical waste from businesses or clinics, or liquids and ointments that are not in original containers. The city says collected items will be safely destroyed, and residents are being asked to remove personal information from pill bottles or packaging before drop-off.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says Take Back Day is meant to provide a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of prescription drugs while also educating the public about medication abuse. The event happens twice a year, and the October 2025 collection brought in 571,054 pounds of medication nationwide, pushing the total collected since fall 2010 to more than 20,391,815 pounds.

Colorado health officials say the stakes go beyond cluttered medicine cabinets. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says safe disposal helps protect children and teens from accidental harm and misuse, and it warns that medicines thrown in the trash or flushed can contaminate water systems and threaten wildlife. The state also lists 174 year-round medication drop-off locations, but the April 25 event adds a convenient one-day option in Castle Pines for families looking to clear out medications before they become a hazard.