Medication Take Back Day is April 28

7 years ago Libby Holte Less than a minute to read

Healthy Sheboygan County 2020, in cooperation  with the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement  Administration  (DEA), will hold a Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday,  April 28, at five locations  throughout Sheboygan  County.

This past fall, Sheboygan  County residents turned in more than 400 pounds of unused medication  and made the statewide effort a record success. Wisconsin was third in the country (behind Texas  and California), disposing  of 63,941 pounds of drugs. This effort is put in place to stop the unsafe disposal of medications and prevent medication abuse.

Unused or expired medicine should never be flushed or poured down the drain. Water facilities are not designed to remove  all of them and we do not want these medications  in our lakes and rivers.

Additionally, an important  reason to dispose of medications is that more than two-thirds of people who have abused prescription painkillers got them illegally from a friend or family member. Proper disposal of unused  medications can help prevent the risk of abuse.

There are five sites around the county that will be ready to take your unused medications. You don’t even have to get out of your car.

The five take-back locations  in Sheboygan County will be accepting  unused medications from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.:

❚ Howards Grove – Village Hall, 913 South Wisconsin Dr., Howards Grove

❚ Oostburg – Oostburg High School, 410 New York Ave., Oostburg

❚ Plymouth – Generations,  1500 Douglas Dr., Plymouth

❚ Random Lake – Fire Department, 718 Spring St., Random Lake Ave. Sheboygan  Sheboygan County residents are also encouraged  to utilize the permanent   medication dropboxes,  located at five police  departments throughout Sheboygan

County:

❚ Elkhart Lake Police Department, 40 Pine Street, Elkhart Lake

❚ Kohler Police Department,  319 Highland Drive, Kohler

❚ Plymouth Police Department,  128 Smith Street, Plymouth

❚ Sheboygan Police Department, 1315 N. 23rd Street, Sheboygan

❚ Sheboygan Falls Police Department, 375 Buffalo  Street, Sheboygan Falls

What can you bring?

Prescription (controlled  and non-controlled)  and over-the counter  medications, ointments, patches, inhalers,  non-aerosol sprays, creams, vials and pet medications. Please bring your liquids in a plastic bag and cross out your identifying information.

What is NOT allowed?

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. For more details, please visit Healthy Sheboygan  County 2020’s website at www.healthysheboygancounty.org. 

 Libby Holte, CHES, is a public health educator with the Sheboygan County Division of Public Health and is the co-chair at Healthy Sheboygan County 2020’s Leadership  Council.