Blood thinners. Painkillers. Antibiotics. Cough syrup. Almost all of us have leftover medications in the cabinets, drawers, or shelves of our homes. But what to do when they’re expired or no longer needed?
I’m old enough to remember when we were encouraged to flush unused medications down the toilet. That’s no longer considered appropriate or safe. Please don’t flush your medications! Doing so can harm aquatic wildlife and contaminate the drinking water we all share.
Luckily, we have a much better option in our community. MedDrop boxes provide a safe, convenient way to dispose of prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs. There are two locations nearby:
The process is simple; just bring your unused or expired medications (nothing illegal, please) to aMedDrop location in a resealable plastic bag and place it into the box. That’s it! The collected drugs will then be properly disposed of by police.
Fun Fact: The UWPD MedDrop box is responsible for the safe collection and disposal of nearly one ton of medications annually. You can learn more about UWPD’s MedDrop program here:
https://uwpd.wisc.edu/services/meddrop/
Please do your part to prevent drug misuse, protect the environment, and safely remove medications from your home with a trip to a MedDrop box.
Jeff Kirchman
University Apartments Community Police Officer
608-264-2677 | jkirchman@wisc.edu
University Apartments Community Center, Room 131