School Gives New Life To Donated Prescription Drug Receptacles From The Oklahoma Bureau Of Narcotics

Prescription drug drop-off boxes are all over the state as a way for people to safely get rid of their old prescription drugs, but those boxes need to be replaced when they get older, to make sure they can safely store the drugs. 

One school in Tulsa received two of the older boxes as a donation from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. They found a new way to use the boxes to solve a problem in their school.

"Children check out books each day, they can take them home and read them, and we just needed a convenient way for the parents to return the books," said John Dodd with CAP Tulsa.

That's where the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics came in. They were retiring old prescription drug receptacles and donated them to a school rather than throwing them away.

ECDC REED transformed them into a spot for students and parents to return their library books.

"In the mornings when they're coming in, they're able to just come in with their parents who walk them down the hall to their classrooms, and on the way, the boxes are conveniently located for them to pull the handle and drop them in," Michelle Boatright with CAP Tulsa said.

When they first got the boxes, they were plain white, but a local artist painted them. Thanks to the boxes, the school has even seen an increase in children checking out books so they can return them.

"The drop-off boxes have made it to where the children are super excited to pull the handle, put the books that they have taken home, to return those in those boxes,” said Boatright.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics is excited to see their old drop boxes getting new life.

"These boxes have been saving lives, and now they're also going to help benefit the education of Oklahoma students,” said Mark Woodward. “We're really thrilled that these will continue to have a great purpose in our communities."

The students are excited to keep dropping their finished reads into the box.

The Bureau of Narcotics replaced those old boxes with new ones. A prescription drug takeback event is happening in Tulsa on October 28 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at these locations:

1. The M.e.t. Recycling Center, 3495 S. Sheridan Road  
2. Tulsa Drillers (Main Gate) 201 N. Elgin Ave. 
3. Reasor’s (sharps site), 7114 S. Sheridan Road  
4. Elks Lodge Tulsa, 5335 S. Harvard Ave.  
5. Tulsa Crime Stoppers/Walmart Neighborhood Market, 4720 E. 21st St.  
6. Walmart Neighborhood Market, 3116 S. Garnett Road 
7. Walmart Neighborhood Market, 1300 E. Albany St., Broken Arrow  
8. Walgreens Jenks, 210 S. Elm St.   
9. Walgreens Bixby, 15111 S. Memorial Drive 
10. Owasso Household Waste Collection & Recycling Event at Tulsa Tech Owasso Campus, 10800 N. 137th East Ave. 
11. Sand Springs Police Department, 602 W. Morrow Road  

Other prescription drug disposal boxes can be found year-round at local law enforcement offices.