Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe is starting a new program next month for residents to dispose of their unused prescription drugs.

“Our target date is June 1,” he said.

Under Project DUMP (Disposal of Unused Medications Properly), people who cannot make it to the existing drop off boxes scattered across the county may call Slupe's office to schedule a pickup of their legally prescribed opiates.

Slupe said the program is another facet to the county's war on drugs.

“This is just another layer,” he said.

Slupe said the pickups would be scheduled around his deputies' other duties.

“We already have the infrastructure in place,” he said. “It's just a matter of the coordination part.”

The collected drugs would be sealed and stored in the sheriff's evidence room inside the county courthouse.

According to the sheriff's policy on Project DUMP, “The rise of opiate addiction has highlighted the need to prevent legally prescribed opiates from reaching the illegal drug market in Butler County. Project DUMP encourages persons who have been prescribed such medications and their caregivers to remove unwanted, unused and expired medications from their homes to reduce the chance that others may accidentally ingest or misuse them.”

The policy also states the secondary goals are to keep the medications out of landfills and waterways, including sources of water supply.

Slupe borrowed the idea from Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen.

Mullen said his office has been running the program for more than a year.

“It's very successful,” Mullen said. “We have [collected] 2,100 pounds of drugs.”

Mullen's evidence room technician picks up the drugs from Allegheny County residents.

He said residents have expressed gratitude for the pickups.

“They didn't know what to do with old prescriptions,” Mullen said.

He said in the first five months of the program, nearly 1,000 OxyContin pills were collected.

Mullen said the program is nearly cost-neutral and creates good will.

“It bolsters the relationship between the community and the sheriff's office,” he said.

Slupe, who is president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association, said other counties should follow suit.

“This is a proven and productive program that should be duplicated in all counties, especially with the epidemic we are currently in and the unknowns that are yet to come,” he said.

Anyone wishing to schedule a Project DUMP pickup after the program begins may call 724-431-1131.

District Attorney Richard Goldinger has drug drop-off boxes at the county government center, the Butler County Prison and the Butler, Butler Township, Adams Township, Cranberry Township, Jackson Township, Penn Township, Saxonburg and Slippery Rock police departments.