(WHNT) — Multiple agencies in the Tennessee Valley will participate in a national prescription drug take-back day on Saturday, October 28 in an effort to reduce the number of easily accessible pills in households.

The bi-annual event aims to provide a safe and responsible way of getting rid of prescription drugs, while also educating people about the dangers of abusing medications, and will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Last year, during two take-back days in April and October, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) collected a total of 8,717 pounds of drugs in Alabama. That’s down from 2021 when 9,808 pounds of medications were recovered in the Yellowhammer state. For our neighbors in Tennessee, 13,030 pounds of medications were recovered in 2022, but that number is down substantially from 2021’s 35,866 pounds.

At the take-back day held in April of this year, 4,457 pounds of drugs were collected across 53 collection sites in Alabama and 8,211 pounds were collected across 120 sites in Tennessee.

News 19 compiled a list of locations participating in drug take-back day across the Tennessee Valley. If you don’t see your county listed, you can visit www.deatakeback.com and type in your city or zip code to find the location to drop off closest to you.

Colbert County:

Jackson County:

Lincoln County:

Morgan County:

  • Hartselle Police Dept., 150 Chestnut Street NW.

Cullman County

  • Cullman Police Dept., 601 2nd AVE NE, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

A few agencies in Madison County will be holding drug takebacks on Saturday, October 21 ahead of the national prescription take-back day. You can find the list of those events below:

  • Parking lot across street from Huntsville Public Safety Complex, 815 Wheeler Avenue, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
  • Madison City Hall, 100 Hughes Road, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
  • CVS, 12275 U.S. 231 in Meridianville, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

For more resources and information on the bi-annual event, you can visit the take-back day website at https://www.dea.gov/takebackday.