A new Ventura County Grand Jury report says the public is poorly informed about the availability of disposal bins for unwanted drugs in the county, and that the amount of prescription drugs actually collected is being overreported.
The county has safe disposal bins at a number of Sheriff's Office and police stations. But, the report says most people are unaware of their availability.
It notes there is no provision for separating unwanted prescription and over the counter drugs, so there is no way of getting an accurate gauge of the makeup of the waste. It also points out what while it’s illegal to throw used needles into standard garbage, the Port Hueneme Police Department is the only agency with a sharps disposal bin.
The Grand Jury says the county needs to develop a uniform policy to comply with state law for unwanted drug and sharps disposal, and to do a better job of publicizing dropoff locations.
