Need to safely dispose of prescription drugs you no longer need or want in your medicine chest?

Richmond Sheriff Antionette V. Irving is prepared to help.

A new drug collection unit has been set up in the lobby of the Richmond Justice Center, 1701 Fairfield Way, to allow people to drop off the drugs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, Sheriff Irving has announced.

The collection unit was provided through a grant from drugstore giant CVS, which is providing units to law enforcement agencies to help people get rid of potentially addictive pain pills and other unused, expired or unwanted medications.

Officials said the new unit went into use Thursday, July 26, giving people a safe way to get rid of medications with no questions asked to reduce the practice of flushing them or pouring them down the drain that can pollute waterways or harm fish and other wildlife.

The new drug collection site at the jail adds to the prescription collection boxes that Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham has installed at the department’s headquarters and at each of the four police precincts.

Those boxes are in the lobby of Police Headquarters, 200 W. Grace St.; First Precinct, 2501 Q St. in Church Hill; Second Precinct, 177 Belt Blvd. in South Side; Third Precinct; 301 S. Meadow St. in the West End; and Fourth Precinct, 2219 Chamberlayne Ave. in North Side.

CVS and Walgreens also have disposal boxes in some of their drugstores, but both companies report offering the service only at certain stores in Henrico and Chesterfield counties.