Sag Harbor Pharmacy, Southampton Hospital sponsor Rx disposal box

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Sag Harbor Pharmacy and Southampton Hospital recently sponsored the creation of a local pharmaceutical collection receptacle to house unwanted, expired and unused medications.

The Big Red Med Disposal Box at the Sag Harbor Pharmacy, which was supplied by the Lloyd Magothy Water Trust, will promote responsible disposal of medications, according to Jeff Yohai, pharmacist and owner of Sag Harbor Pharmacy.

“Having the Big Red Med Disposal Box here in Sag Harbor Pharmacy is a great benefit for our community,” Yohai said. “We need to do our best to keep old prescription medications out of the hands of small children who might accidentally ingest them, and out of the hands of any teens who might seek to use medications for non-medical use.”

In addition to curbing prescription drug abuse, the receptacle is also designed to prevent water contamination from medication that’s improperly discarded.

“Water quality is a major concern for Long Island and we need to protect our drinking water from many kinds of potential contaminants, including unwanted medications that might otherwise be flushed into our groundwater,” Robert Chaloner, president and CEO of Southampton Hospital, said.

The Big Red Med Disposal Box meets the Drug Enforcement Administration’s regulations to implement the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, according to Southampton Hospital. The receptacle will collect only non-controlled medications until the New York State Bureau of Narcotics updates their regulations, the hospital said.