In an effort to ensure prescription medications are disposed of properly, the Tampa Police Department is spearheading "Operation Medicine Cabinet" in February.

Anyone with unwanted medications can drop them off from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Sweetbay Supermarket, 805 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Tampa.

During previous Operation Medicine Cabinet events, bagfuls of drugs were collected for disposal, said Rebecca Jones of TPD's crime prevention team.

Jones and other law enforcement officials caution against disposing of prescription drugs in traditional ways like throwing them in the garbage or flushing them down the toilet because it can cause contamination or get into the hands of a child.

"An animal could sift throgh the trash and eat them," she said. "It's a controlled substance, and it needs to be disposed of properly."

Jones offered a simple rule for getting rid of prescription drugs.

"If you don't need them," she said, "they don't need to be in your house."

Do you plan to go to Operation Medicine Cabinet? Tell us in the comments.