In the 11 years since the the Big Red Barrel was born in Livingston County, the drug-collection program has grown to 78 barrels throughout the state. Those barrels account for the collection of over 50,000 pounds of unused medications.
The Big Red Barrel is a project of the Livingston County Community Alliance, a countywide, anti-drug coalition. The project is vitally important: LCCA statistics how that the number of opioid overdoses has skyrocketed six-fold — from 52 in 2019 to 318 in 2020 — and the organization believes prescription painkillers can be the gateway to heroin. In addition to keeping these medications out of the hands of potential users, the collection program also keeps people from flushing unused drugs down the toilet or disposing of them in the trash, both of which affect groundwater.
The idea for the Big Red Barrel came from a Drug Enforcement Agency “Take Back Day,” at which Brighton residents Joe Carney and Terry Murray wondered why the DEA took back unused medications only twice a year.
The two came up a plan to collect unused medications locally and at any time, and took the idea to then-Undersheriff and now Sheriff Mike Murphy, who told the men that if they did the collecting, he would take care of the disposal.
Carney and Murray designed a secure and tamper-proof barrel that is today found in all Livingston County police stations and every Michigan State Police Post, as well as other locations. A barrel is also at Recycle Livingston the first Saturday of each month, as well as at other community events during the year.
When medications are dropped off in the barrel, there is no cost and no questions asked. All that is required is for pills to be placed in a zip lock bag (pills can be mixed); if liquid medication needs to be disposed, enough paper towels must be placed in the zip lock bag to soak up the liquid, which can’t be mixed with any others.
Then medications go to a licensed incinerator for safe disposal.
For a list of Big Red Barrel locations, click here.
For more information, or to get involved with the LCCA, go to the organization’s website.
