Centralia Police Chief Brian Atchison is reminding the community that the National DEA Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday and that his agency will be accepting unused or expired prescription drugs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“We will take these medications on any given day and would not turn anyone away that wants to safely dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs,” said Atchison. “But the DEA pays for the collection and destruction of drugs collected on that one day”

Policing agencies across the country will be participating in the National Take-Back Day. In addition to the Centralia Police Department, other area agencies participating in Saturday’s event include the Salem Police Department, Mt. Vernon Police Department, Breese Police Department, Vandalia Police Department, and the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office.

The last Take-Back Day brought in more than 900,000 pounds of unused or expired prescription medication.

This brings the total amount of prescription drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 to 10,878,950 pounds.

Atchison encourages people to properly dispose of prescription medications they no longer need or can no longer use, rather than flushing them down the toilet or washing them down the drain, which puts those medications into the community water table.