The Rotary Club of Great Falls has announced that, in response to its request, CVS has placed a medicine disposal box at the CVS pharmacy in the Great Falls Center at 9871 Georgetown Pike. Its purpose is to make it easier for community residents to safely dispose of unused medicines from their homes.

Many families have been holding onto unused drugs for fear of contaminating water supplies if disposed of improperly, or because of the inconvenience of dropping off drugs at distant disposal sites. The lack of easy access for medicine disposal is a contributing factor to the opioid crisis in Fairfax County. CVS will accept medications that are either prescribed or over-the-counter, as well as liquid medication bottles under four ounces and contained in a zip lock bag. The Rotary Club congratulates and thanks CVS for making this service available for the residents of Great Falls — the only local CVS community to receive a medicine disposal box this year.

“Our goal is to make unused drugs less accessible to potential first-time abusers,” said June Kelly, Ph.D., Chair of the opioid initiative of Rotary Great Falls. “The medicine cabinet is the primary source of access for these individuals. We now have a safe means of medicine disposal available in our community.”

The Rotary of Great Falls provides service above self through many local and international initiatives, tackling human trafficking, feeding the homeless, providing wells in Africa, support for disease eradication, and community economic development.