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DEA Educational Foundation and Verde Technologies Partnership

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Deterra® Drug Deactivation System

Disposal: The Missing Step in Drug Abuse Prevention

Deterra and the DEA Educational Foundation celebrate two years of working together, discovering innovative ways to safely rid the world of unused, unwanted or leftover prescription medications.


Drug misuse is a high-risk public health issue in the United States, warranting national efforts for prevention, response and recovery, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)’s 2020 report. Aware of the risks that come with drug misuse and abuse, Deterra and the DEA Educational Foundation formed a partnership in 2018 to bring awareness to the importance of safe and permanent prescription and over-the-counter drug disposal, a partnership that has helped rid the world of millions of unused medications to date.


The Deterra® Drug Deactivation System remains the only product available today that has an effective activated carbon per medication ratio that can fully destroy the amount of medication claimed on the label. It is scientifically proven to permanently destroy prescription and over-the-counter drugs, ensuring unused and unwanted medications are gone for good. And with the DEA Educational Foundation’s support and guidance from trusted advisor, Bill Alden, Chairman and CEO of the Foundation, Deterra has continued to foster a prevention-first mindset in our communities, organizations and businesses. Here’s how we do it together.

Deterra products

Making Drug Disposal Safer and Easier

Deterra’s research and development team consulted scientists, third-party researchers and tapped its community, including the DEA Educational Foundation, to rethink how to make disposal safer and more convenient. This year, Deterra launched a new line of containers to allow disposal of greater amounts of medication, new pouches made from plant-based materials as well as retail kits for pharmacy compliance. Not only has the company shifted the way the products are displayed, but has also expanded its network. This year, together with the DEA Educational Foundation, we have found ways to educate those not only through public safety and community outreach, but also in the workplace, pharmacies and recovery centers.


“Improper disposal of prescription and over-the-counter medications is a key contributor to drug abuse, one that can be the simplest to fix,” said Deterra CEO Jason Sundby. “Our team worked hard this year to ensure our options for disposal at home and in clinical settings were safer, easier and more accessible than ever before.”


Working Together

Between 2012 – 2017, almost 1.4 billion opioid prescriptions were written, and it is estimated that up to 92% of post-surgical prescriptions went unused, making them available for misuse, abuse and diversion. To combat the ever-growing opioid crisis, collaborative partnerships were necessary to help educate and share effective solutions with people. With the help of strategic partnerships, including the DEA Educational Foundation, Summit County Community Partnership, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse (MAPDA), among others, Deterra pouches have been distributed across all fifty states and territories.


“Addiction to prescription drugs is a public safety issue,” said William Alden, Chairman and CEO of the DEA Educational Foundation. “By forging the partnership with Deterra, we are able to help keep medications out of the wrong hands and be part of the solution together.”


Creating Peace of Mind at Home

Deterra has made its mission to increase access to safe and effective at-home disposal to reduce the number of unused medications in homes across the United States, and the DEA Educational Foundation is proud to help them achieve their goals.


Now more than ever, it is important to hold on to what we know for sure: prevention is a critical solution to this public health crisis. We cannot forget the danger of opioid abuse, which kills 130 people every day in the United States alone. Safe drug disposal, collaboration and accessibility to drug abuse prevention resources and education at home has become more critical.


The Foundation would like to thank Verde Technologies and CEO Jason Sundby for their continued support of our programs and their ongoing efforts in increasing awareness of drug abuse, as well as the public’s use of a safe disposal option for unused prescription medications.


To learn more about Deterra visit DeterraSystem.com.

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