Take Back Events Program

1. Create urgency, stress the need for the event, and provide awareness of the opioid epidemic  
2. Seek support from OPEN, your organization, and others in the community
3. Set and implement project aims

In order to host a successful Take Back Event, it is important to get the whole community involved. Begin by forming a team comprised of volunteers and law enforcement. Your team members will be critical to spreading the word and ensuring that everything runs smoothly on the day of the event. 

1. Responsibilities of Event Organizer 

• Review OPEN Medication Take Back Event Guide 
• Create and review budget
• Connect with law enforcement and other partners 
• Recruit volunteers and delegate tasks 
• Create and distribute promotional and educational material 

2. Responsibilities of Volunteers: 

• Advertise for the event (ex: distributing flyers)
• Contribute to other tasks (ex: ordering food, picking up brochures, etc.)
• Set up and clean the day of the event 
• Run workstations 
• Direct traffic, greet participants, and answer questions 

3. Responsibilities of Law Enforcement: 

• Maintain control and custody of collected substances 
• Dispose/destroy controlled substances in accordance with local, state, and federal guidelines
• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requires one law enforcement officer present, unless the event uses a permanent disposal box 
• Michigan OPEN recommends the presence of at least two officers

The venue you choose can impact the success of the event. The location alone can influence attendees both positively and negatively. As a result, when choosing the venue, you should take your time and collaborate with local law enforcement.  

Things to consider when choosing a venue: 

• Easy entrances and exits for participant safety
• Well known or easy to find location 
• Space to set up tent (if outdoors) and/or tables 
• Sufficient parking and accessible via public transportation 
• Access to restrooms 
• Safe perimeter around event

While law enforcement will maintain control and custody of your medication disposal box contents, YOU are responsible for the collection and disposal of any liquids or sharps you receive. 

1. Liquids 

• Supplies: large size resealable plastic bags and kitty litter OR drug deactivation products 
• Pour liquid medication into the kitty litter bags and throw into the garbage OR
• Follow instructions for Drug Deactivation Kit disposal
• Do NOT flush liquid opioids down the toilet 

2. Sharps

• Supplies: sharps container or container made of heavy duty plastic that cannot be punctured and has a tight fitting lid (make sure it can sit up right and that it is not filled more than ⅔ of the way)
• Do NOT use water bottles, metal cans, or glass jars  
• Do NOT throw sharps or used sharps containers into trash or recycling
• For disposal:
  • If using a hospital container: contact hospital for instruction
  • If using red purchased container: read instructions on how to pay to ship the filled containers for incineration 
  • If using homemade containers: visit safeneedledisposal.org to find a disposal location in your area, contact your regular garbage collector and ask about container pickup, OR contact your city, village, or town office and ask about hazardous household waste collection events

3. Inhalers

• Inhalers can be returned to certain permanent disposal sites. Call ahead of time to ensure the site accepts inhalers for disposal. 
• Inhalers can be returned using appropriate mail-back envelopes, such as these envelopes available through American RX Group. Follow the instructions included with the envelope to return the inhaler(s). 

4. Patches 

• Patches can be returned to a local permanent disposal site. Call ahead of time to ensure the site accepts medication patches for disposal. 
• Patches can be returned using mail-back envelopes. 
• Patches can be placed into an activated carbon drug deactivation pouch. Follow the instructions on the pouch to effectively deactivate the medication patches.