Riverbank City Council members recently learned of an alternative to disposing properly of unused or expired medications that might be lying around.

Planning and Building Department Manager Donna Kenney reported at the last council meeting that she had received a new batch of packets used to dispose of the meds.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold last spring, access to the existing disposal facility in the Sheriff’s sub-station, where Riverbank Police Services is located, has not been available. The lobby there is the location of the city disposal bin, but the public has not been allowed access to city buildings since the lockdown took effect.

Kenney showed the council examples of the two sizes of packets she has available for the public, a medium and a large.

They are used by opening up the top and inserting the pills or liquid to be disposed of, adding a cup of water, then closing the pouch, shaking it up and then throwing it away. She said the chemicals inside, in separate pouches, would combine with the water and the meds, rendering them inert.

Explaining that the product is called Deterra, Kenney said it is provided by Stanislaus County Opioid Safety Coalition. For more information, those interested can call Jennifer Marsh, Coordinator, Substance Use Education and Prevention Services, at a 209-281-8442.

Kenney is making the pouches available to Riverbank residents when they call to make an appointment. Her office, like the rest of the city offices, is closed to the public since the COVID-19 pandemic took over, so she makes a ‘socially distanced’ distribution at the city bench in front of her office, City Hall South, on the corner of Third and Santa Fe streets in downtown Riverbank.

She can be reached at 209-863-7124. An appointment is necessary because she, like many city employees, often works from home these days but will be available for the distribution as necessary.