Dittoe PR Client Aims to Put an End to the Opioid Crisis

by Dittoe PR | May 4, 2018 | Client Relationships, Public Relations

If you had unused medication sitting in your medicine cabinet, how would you dispose of it?

Many opt to flush or throw away their unneeded prescriptions; however, this means medications can potentially end up in landfills, our water supply, or in the hands of a child or potential abuser.

For these reasons and many more, Stericycle Environmental Solutions is working to ensure all consumers know what to do with their unwanted or unused prescription drugs. Specifically, Stericycle has been a leading force in ending our nation’s opioid epidemic.

Every day, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. This serious national crisis not only affects public health and social and economic welfare, but it has also been a major concern for much of the United States.

Stericycle is working to put an end to the opioid epidemic through its pharmaceutical takeback services, which include two components: the collection kiosk program and the Seal&Send MailBack program.

Not only do they offer safe, reliable, and anonymous outlets for consumers and pharmaceutical end users to dispose of their unused and/or expired drugs, but their services received a Top Product of the Year Award at the 2017 Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards. Furthermore, their collection receptacles serve many different types of facilities including retail pharmacies, long-term care facilities, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, businesses, and organizations.

Stericycle even recently partnered with the National Safety Council for a traveling opioid memorial, Prescribed to Death: A Memorial to the Victims of the Opioid Crisis, which most notably was unveiled on the Ellipse in President’s Park in Washington, D.C. last month.

This interactive art installation includes a wall made of medicine pills, each individually carved with images of the 22,000 people who died last year due to prescription opioid overdose. Additionally, a new pill bearing a human face will be 3D printed on-site and added to the wall every 24 minutes to represent the fact that someone dies every 24 minutes from an opioid overdose.

Working for an agency that provides public relations support for an array of clients means we’re exposed to a number of industries and campaigns, but we were especially thrilled to be working with Stericycle on such a timely and significant effort.

Throughout our efforts working with Stericycle on this provocative nationwide campaign, we’ve been able to secure countless media hits to promote their pharmaceutical takeback services, including the following top stories:

Interested in earning media attention for your company’s unique services? Contact us today!