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Police Department to host paper shredding and drug take-back events

Date: 9/10/2015

EAST LONGMEADOW – The Police Department is hosting two separate annual events this month that would provide residents with the opportunity to shred sensitive paperwork and dispose of prescription drugs.

A Shred Day is set for Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. until noon in the Pleasant View Senior Center parking lot at 328 N. Main St.  

Police Chief Douglas Mellis said the event is in conjunction with the Council on Aging (COA) and is geared toward helping senior citizens safely discard paperwork such as old tax statements as well as banking and checking information.

“You can have them shredded instead of just throwing them out in their trash,” he added. “Unfortunately, there are some people who will go through trash to receive social security numbers, bank statements and the like.”

COA Director Carolyn Brennan said the council asks that individuals attending the event bring non-expired canned goods, which would be donated to the Senior Center Emergency Food Pantry program.

ProShred of Wilbraham donates its service for the shredding event each year, she noted. The Shred Day has been an annual event for at least five years.

The Police Department will also host the Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the department’s headquarters at 160 Somers Road.

Mellis said the event is hosted in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration. All medications will be accepted except for liquid drugs and needles. There is no charge for the program and pet medications would also be accepted for disposal.

“It’s been very successful in our town,” he added. “We’ve generally collected close to, if not more, than a 100 pounds of prescription drugs.”

He noted that after the medications are collected they would be incinerated.

“It’s a source to get rid of these so they don’t fall into the wrong hands,” Mellis added. “We have enough of an opiate crisis as it exists currently in the Commonwealth and other type of pharmaceutical prescription drugs that have been abused over the years.”

For any additional questions, the Police Department can be reached by calling 525-5440.