INDIANAPOLIS -- Unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs were collected over the weekend as part of an effort to get Hoosiers to safely toss old medication to keep it out of the wrong hands and out of the wastewater system.

Clarian Health and Marsh pharmacies took part in the effort at the start of National Poison Prevention Week, 6News' Tanya Spencer reported.

When her five children were younger, Julie Groteguth took precautions to keep cleaners, chemicals and pills out of their reach.

"I kept mine in my bathroom cabinet up toward the top, where they couldn't reach it, and always used the childproof lids, if I could get them," Groteguth said. “(I) put the safety locks on the cabinets so they couldn't get in there."

Groteguth was worried for good reason. Last year, the Indiana Poison Center took 225 calls a day from residents concerned about accidental poisoning. More than half involved children age 5 and younger.

"If medication is laying around places, either kids or animals have a tendency to get into it, which can cause accidental poisonings," said Dr. Kenneth Frush, a pharmacist at Marsh.

Forty-one Marsh pharmacies across Indiana held a "Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet" event. For two days, they accepted expired or unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicine.

"We actually send them to a company that destroys them appropriately," said Frush, adding that Marsh holds the events two to four times each year.

Experts said safe disposal is important because pills that are thrown away or flushed down the toilet can eventually end up in the water supply.

Left unattended, small children aren't the only people to worry about. Recent studies show one in five teens has admitted to using prescription drugs to get high, a trend that's on the rise, experts say, because teens can easily get the drugs from their own homes.

Here are a few common sense precautions for dealing with prescription medication:

Talk to teens about prescription drug abuse.

Buy products with child-resistant packaging and replace caps tightly every time.

Lock away medicines and hazardous household products instead of just placing them up high.

If you think your child may have ingested something poisonous, call the Indiana Poison Center immediately at 800-222-1222. Don’t wait to see if they get sick.

The Indiana Poison Center suggests keeping its phone number near every phone in a home.