Plover Police Chief Dan Ault (left) and Sheriff Mike Lukas stack almost a ton of discarded prescription medication collected for the 2017 Drug Take Back event. (Metro Wire photo)

Unload your unwanted prescription drugs today

April 25, 2018April 28, 2018

By Brandi Makuski

A statewide Drug Take Back Day is scheduled for Saturday.

While unwanted prescriptions are taken by local law enforcement agencies year-round, the Drug Take Back Day, April 28, shines an extra spotlight on the need for proper collection and disposal, according to Sheriff Mike Lukas.

Collecting old, or unwanted prescriptions helps prevent misuse and abuse of prescription painkillers and other pharmaceuticals, he said.

Collection boxes are permanently located at the Stevens Point and Plover Police departments, as well as the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office.

Since 2015, more than 330,000 pounds of unused and unwanted medications have been disposed through the program, according to Attorney General Brad Schimel, who added Wisconsin has more law enforcement agencies participate in the event than any other state in the country.

Wisconsin has repeatedly had the third-largest drug disposal collections in the country, he added, only falling behind California and Texas.

Locally, upcoming Drug Take Back dates are: Thursday, April 26, at Village Park Lodge in Junction City, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Friday, April 27, at the Jensen Center in Amherst from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday, April 28 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Lincoln Center, and 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m. at the Almond-Bancroft Community Center

The collection events take place in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Guidelines

All waste pharmaceuticals must be generated by a household—no businesses are allowed.

Bring: Prescription (controlled and non-controlled) and over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, inhalers, non-aerosol sprays, creams, vials and pet medications.

Do Not Bring: Illegal drugs, needles/sharps, acids, aerosol cans, bio-hazardous materials (anything containing a bodily fluid or blood), personal care products (shampoo, soaps, lotions, sunscreens), household hazardous waste (paint, pesticides, oil, gas), mercury thermometers.

Participants may dispose of solid, non-liquid medication(s) by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into a disposal box or into a clear sealable plastic bag. Plastic pill containers should not be collected. Blister packages without the medications being removed are acceptable.

Liquids will be accepted, but must be in their original packaging and their weight evenly distributed within the boxes of collected solid prescription medications. Liquids without the original packaging will not be accepted.