Anderson Township residents can drop off unwanted medications at a free Take Back Day event Saturday, Oct. 24.

The collection runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office District 5 lobby, 7954 Beechmont Ave., according to Anderson Township. The event is free and anonymous.

Anderson Township and the sheriff's office are sponsoring the collection in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which coordinates Take Back Day events at law enforcement sites nationwide. The program has removed more than 21 million pounds of medication from circulation since it began in 2010, according to DEA figures cited by partnering agencies.

Accepted items include expired or unneeded prescription and over-the-counter pills and tablets. All medications must be placed in a ziplock-style bag before drop-off. Liquids, ointments, aerosols, inhalers, needles, injection devices and plastic or glass bottles are not accepted. Residents are also encouraged to bring empty pill bottles for recycling.

The event follows a year in which Hamilton County's Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit (RENU) seized 96,229 grams of methamphetamine, a 213% increase from 2023 and the largest amount in five years, according to the township's April 2025 newsletter. Anderson Township funds a dedicated RENU officer through its contract with the sheriff's office. Township Administrator Vicky Earhart said in the newsletter that the arrangement, in place for about 13 years, has returned roughly $360,000 through forfeited drug-trafficking assets.

Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus said in an Oct. 2 WKRC report on expanded Narcan access that overdose deaths in the county dropped from nearly 500 in 2016 to about 200 in 2025. "This access to Narcan has saved lives and reduced our overdose death numbers," Driehaus said at the time.

Residents who miss the Oct. 24 event can use a permanent prescription drug drop box in the District 5 front lobby on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The drop box, part of the Ohio Prescription Drug Drop Box Program, accepts the same pill and tablet items year-round.