Published: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 6:10 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 6:10 p.m.

Operation Medicine Drop in Polk County bagged a total of 56,926 pills and removed more than 4,500 doses of controlled substances from the community on Saturday.

The Polk County Sheriffs Office, which held the event in conjunction with Tryon Police Department, Tryon Fire Department and the Saluda Police Department, called the collection very successful in a news release Tuesday.

Residents responded in positive stride to get prescription drugs that were no longer of value to the prescribed off the streets. By taking part in these take back events, it aids in the prevention of keeping them from being abused or distributed illegally on our streets, the Sheriffs Office said in the release.

Citizens deposited unused medications at the Sheriffs Office, Saluda Police Department, Sunny View Fire Department, Tryon Estates and Tryon Fire Department during the collection Saturday.

Officers collected a total of 56,926 pills that weighed more than 70 pounds. According to the release, 4,536 of the dosage units were controlled substances.

Prescription drug abuse is one of the most abused forms of drug use that plagues North Carolina, according to the release.

The national Operation Medicine Drop campaign gives residents an opportunity to rid their homes of these drugs which are so commonly sought after during other criminal activities such as breaking and entering, according to the Sheriffs Office.

Operation Medicine Drop partners with Safe Kids North Carolina, the Drug Enforcement Administration, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, and local law enforcement to collect and safely destroy these drugs during this campaign. Once the dosages are collected, the State Bureau of Investigation gathers them from across the state, where they are later transported by the North Carolina Highway Patrol to a state-approved incinerator.

Operation Medicine Drop events typically take place statewide in the spring and fall.

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Operation Medicine Drop nets more than 70 pounds of pills