Westmont residents can drop off unused or expired prescription medications at two locations Saturday, Oct. 24, during the DEA's National Drug Take Back Day.

The Westmont Police Department will collect medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its headquarters, 500 N. Cass Ave., and at the Mariano's grocery store at 150 W. 63rd St., according to a village announcement posted Sept. 28. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sponsors the national event.

Staff will accept pills, powders, patches and closed red biohazard sharps boxes containing needles. Loose needles are not accepted.

Radioactive medicines, liquids, creams, inhalers, injectors and EpiPens will not be accepted at the Oct. 24 event.

The village said the collection helps prevent prescription drug misuse and keeps medications out of the water supply. The DEA's most recent national collection, in April, gathered 321 tons of medications from more than 4,400 sites across the country.

Detective Sgt. Rolando Padilla of the Westmont Police Department is the local contact for the event.

Year-round drop boxes

Residents who miss the Oct. 24 event can use Westmont's year-round medication drop boxes. The boxes sit in the lobbies of the Westmont Police Department at 500 N. Cass Ave. and the Westmont Fire Department at 6015 S. Cass Ave. They are accessible Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The year-round program accepts a wider range of items than the one-day event, including over-the-counter medications, inhalers, ointments and liquid medications. It does not accept thermometers, herbal supplements, vitamins, cosmetics, batteries, illicit drugs, radioactive drugs or medical waste.

A separate sharps disposal kiosk is available in the police-fire facility lobby at 500 N. Cass Ave. for needles and similar items.