Sen. Terrence Murphy returned to Mount Pleasant Town Hall on Thursday to kick off his third annual “Shed the Meds” program.

The goal of the program is to reduce the number of prescription overdoses by helping residents dispose of their unwanted or outdated prescription drugs safely. Those who utilize the program can drop off their medications at Town Hall.

News 12 Westchester is told that last year alone, the program took more than 1,000 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs out of circulation.

Murphy says the program is also a safe and efficient way to dispose of unused and unwanted prescription drugs that could wind up harming children or polluting waterways.

“We are still in the middle of a heroin epidemic and opioid epidemic in New York State and the country,” says Sen. Murphy. “And this is just a little part that we can do with regards to trying to take some of these opioids out of the medicine cabinets and dispose of them the proper way.”

Sen. Murphy is partnering with the town of Mount Pleasant and its police department again to help make this initiative happen.

Other “Shed the Meds” events will also take place over the summer in Yorktown, Somers and Carmel.