Almost everyone has a cupboard, drawer, or box with unused or expired medications. When you, your kids, or pets get sick and get a prescription but don’t use all of the medicine, what do you do with it? You take it to a medication drop box or medication take-back event!
Properly disposing of medications helps keep other people safe and protects the environment. Keeping unused medications around your home can be dangerous because they may fall into the wrong hands or be taken by accident. When medications enter the environment through flushing or other improper disposal, they can harm aquatic environments as well as the fish and other animals who live there.
In Green County, medication drop boxes are located at all of the local police departments and the Green County Sheriff’s office. To find the exact addresses and hours of operation for each prescription drug drop box, please visit the Green County Public Health website: wi-greencounty.civicplus.com/383/Medication-Safety. People can dispose of prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, medications for pets, vitamins, and inhalers at the drop boxes. Medications collected at the Drop Box are incinerated and disposed of in the most environmentally safe method.
In addition to the medication drop boxes, local community organizations, and law enforcement agencies often host medication take-back events, where people can dispose of their unused or expired medication. This month, Better Brodhead is hosting a medication take-back event on October 19th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Brodhead Piggly Wiggly. Plus, when you bring your unused medications to this event, you can get a free brat!
If you cannot make it to a medication drop box or take-back event, some medications can be safely flushed down the toilet to be disposed of, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration maintains a list of these medications on their website: fda.gov. Additionally, Green County Public Health has de-activation bags for medications that cannot be flushed. These bags work by combining the medication and water in the bag that contains a deactivation powder and flushing the combination down the toilet. Anyone who needs a medication deactivation bag can contact Green County Public Health at (608) 328-9390 or stop into our office at the Green County Government Services Building to pick up a bag.
It’s also important to safely store the medications you are currently using. When medications are accessible to anyone, someone could steal or misuse that medication, or children may mistake them for candy and accidentally consume them. To help prevent accidental poisonings or the misuse of medications, it’s a good idea to store them in a locked box or bag. Green County Public Health has medication lockboxes and bags available for free at our office. To request one, please call us at (608) 328-9390 or stop by our office.
Medications are a great medical advancement that helps people feel and get better, it’s important that everyone plays a role in properly storing and disposing of them.
— Bridget Zimmerman is the Public Health Educator for the Green County Public Health Department and can be reached at bzimmerman@greencountywi.org or 608-328-9509.
