Groton — Ledge Light Health District on Monday reminded local residents that National Drug Take Back Day, a biannual event encouraging the public to dispose of prescription and over-the-counter medications safely, will be held Saturday.

To mark the event, a police officer will be at the Senior Center on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to collect medications. The drug drop boxes at police departments are available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Bringing unused prescriptions and over-the-counter medications to a drop box is environmentally friendly and can reduce access to prescription drugs that are misused or abused, officials said. Most towns in the region have drop boxes available in their police department lobbies for use anytime.

Two drop boxes installed in Groton in 2012 have collected more than two tons of medications.

“Last year alone, drug drop boxes in the state collected nearly 34,000 pounds of unneeded medication,” said Michelle Seagull, acting commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection. “More families are disposing of medication at their drop box, and know how to dispose (of medications) safely at home because of the work of local organizations. Educating our neighbors about getting unneeded opioids out of our families’ homes is one important step we can take to fight the opioid crisis.”

Groton City Police Chief Thomas Davoren said he is happy with the community response.

“The program seems to be working well as there is a steady use of the box at this department,” he said. “We are collecting hundreds of pounds of medications a year. The city owns the water company and we have a vested interest in insuring that improperly discarded medications do not contaminate the groundwater.”

Carolyn Wilson, coordinator of the Groton Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention said that timely disposal of unused or expired medications benefits the community.

“’Take it to the box,’ should become a household norm,” she said.

The following items are permitted for disposal in the drop boxes: prescription medications, patches and ointments, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, samples and pet medications from private citizens only, not veterinary clinics. Syringes and liquids are not allowed in the boxes. Items such as cough drops and protein powder should be discarded in the trash and not placed in the boxes.

Jamming the box is also a concern, Ledge Light said.

“Do not throw plastic shopping bags or pill organizers into the drop box,” said Paul Gately, deputy chief of the Groton Town police. “Take the medications out of the bag and put them in a few at a time. If you have loose medication in a pill organizer, place the pills in a bottle or a small quart size resalable plastic bag. If you have multiple bottles, but them in one at a time.”