MOULTONBOROUGH — Don’t flush those unused drugs.

Town officials are seeking to protect the environment — and fight drug abuse — by installing a “MedReturn” drop box in the lobby of the town’s public safety building.

Instead of waiting for the annual U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency or regional drug take-back events out of town, residents can now drop off unwanted and expired prescription or non-prescription drugs during open lobby hours.

Those hours are generally every day from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The program is anonymous and no questions or requests for identification are made. The drugs are regularly removed from the box by police personnel. Town manager Carter Terenzini said up until recently, the town has only been able to have such collections as part of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Take Back Initiative. In the four events under that program, more than 100 pounds of prescription and non-prescription drugs were collected. Town officials hope that regular access to this new, approved disposal facility will encourage more people to participate in this effort on a regular basis.

Police chief Leonard Wetherbee noted the drug collection box has several benefits.

“This initiative addresses vital public safety and health issues. Medicines that languish in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends including the home medicine cabinet,” said Wetherbee.

This past Tuesday, approximately 40 pounds of unused drugs were emptied from the bin, said Wetherbee.

“It’s been a great success. The feedback has been that people appreciate not having to go out of town to dispose of the drugs and that it gives a safer and alternative way to dispose of drugs rather than into the plumbing where it can leach into the groundwater,” he said, adding the drop box can help keep prescription drugs away from abusers who may raid a relative’s medicine cabinet.

All solid and liquid dosage pharmaceutical products, in their consumer containers, are accepted. Containers with liquids should be tightly closed and placed into an intact, sealed plastic bag to protect from spillage. Intravenous solutions, aerosols, inhalers, syringes (which are accepted at the transfer station) or illegal substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine cannot be accepted.

The town also issued a new advisory on how to dispose of medical sharps (needles) after a number of them surfaced at the town’s transfer station, causing a hazard to users and workers, according to road agent Scott Kinmond.

He said the facility does accept sharps for disposal when properly packaged. The method is to place the sharps in a good-condition plastic container — laundry detergent containers are preferred — tape the top shut and mark “Do not recycle — household sharps.”

These containers can then be handed to a transfer station attendant.

Questions about the drug collection effort may be directed to Sgt. Scott J. Fulton at 476-2400 or sfulton@moultonboroughnh.gov.

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Larissa Mulkern may be reached at LMulkern@newstote.com.