Have unused or expired medications? 

The Allegheny County Police Department will dispose of them for you if you drop them off between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday at the North Park Station, 700 West Ridge Drive, Allison Park.

So will other local police departments in Ross, Cranberry, McCandless, Shaler and other localities. (See list below.)

This National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is scheduled in the spring and fall by the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

In October 2011, Americans turned in more than 377,086 pounds (188.5 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,327 take-back sites that were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories, according to the DEA website.

When the results of the three prior Take-Back Days are combined, the DEA, and its state, local, and tribal law-enforcement and community partners have removed nearly 1 million pounds of medication from circulation in the past 13 months, the website states.

Throwing drugs away properly can help limit illegal drug use and protect the environment, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

While the agency recommends taking advantage of community take-back programs, it does advise that most prescription drugs can be thrown out in the trash, if no clear instructions for disposal are on the label. 

It recommends first taking the pills out of their original containers and mixing them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. 

Please check your medicine cabinets and participate in this program. Make your homes safer!

Here are local dropoff points:

• Ross Township Police Department will collect at the Highmark store in the McKnight Siebert Shopping Center, 4885 McKnight Road. 
• Shaler Township Police Department's collection point is Shaler North Hills Library, 1822 Mt. Royal Boulevard, Glenshaw.
• McCandless Police Department will collect at Northland Public Library, 300 Cumberland Road, Pittsburgh.
• Cranberry Township Police Department is collecting at Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road in Cranberry Township.