The Livingston County Community Alliance

The Livingston County Community Alliance is an anti-drug coalition that wants to raise awareness of and prevent underage drug, alcohol and tobacco use.  They have a lot of resources available and they conduct a ‘Run Against Drugs’ 5K every year to raise money for their efforts.  This year the 12^th Annual Run Against Drugs will be on August 29^th at the First United Methodist Church in Howell.

Perhaps one of their most visible programs is the Big Red Barrel Project, where they provide a location to safely dispose of unused or outdated medications.  Throwing meds into the landfill or flushing them into the water treatment system is not a good solution.

Big Red barrels are permanently located at a variety of municipal police stations, including Brighton’s Michigan State Police post, the police stations in Fowlerville, Hamburg, Pinckney, Unadilla, Green Oak, Brighton and Howell, and the Livingston County Jail.  There are also single day collection sites that can be found on the LCCA web site. 

Please note that you should bring the meds with their original labeled bottle and a baggie to the location. Dump the pills into the baggie on site, seal it then drop the baggie into the barrel.  Liquid meds can be poured onto paper towels until it is fully absorbed, then place the towels in a baggie, seal it, and dispose of it at the barrel.  No syringes or needles are accepted. 

All Red Barrel locations are provided at no cost to you and are ‘no questions asked’.  One of the next public event locations will be at the Senior Power Day (see my blog post about it) on August 7, 2015 at Pinckney High School.  If you’re planning to attend, the Red Barrel will be there!

LCCA logo courtesy of LCCA website