Safe Communities MedDrop Program

MedDrop

Looking for Drop-off Sites? Click HERE for All MedDrop Locations.

Leftover and expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines can be found in every household in the county. Last year unintentional poisonings killed more Dane County residents than automobile crashes. Misuse or abuse of prescription, over-the-counter or illicit drugs are the major cause. Pain medication when misused, can be especially fatal.

MEDICINE SAFETY – It’s Up to You! Always Handle Medications Wisely

Always be sure to:

  • Use medication exactly as prescribed
  • Store medicines away from family and friends
  • Get rid of expired and leftover medicine
  • Do not flush medicine! Take unwanted medicine to a MedDrop box

How to Use MedDrop

  • To dispose of medications in the MedDrop drop boxes, please bring your unused or expired medication and a Ziploc or other resealable bag to the MedDrop police department.
  • Empty contents of pill bottles into a Ziploc/storage bag at the police station and recycle your pill bottles, either by taking them home with you, or placing in the container provided at the police station. Block out personal information before recycling.
  • Leave liquids, gels or creams in their original containers and place them in a Ziploc/storage bag
  • Place sealed Ziploc/storage bags into the MedDrop box
  • A list of items accepted for disposal at MedDrop drop boxes is listed below

What You Can Get Rid of at MedDrop

  • Prescription Medicine (pills, liquids, creams, powders & patches)
  • Over-the-Counter Medicine (pills, liquids, creams, powders & patches)
  • Medications for Pets
  • Vitamins
  • Medication Samples
  • Nebulizer Solution
  • Inhalers

*Illegal drugs cannot be disposed of in the drop box. However, you may bring illegal drugs to the police station and turn them over to authorities, no questions asked.

Do Not Bring

  • IV Bags
  • Oxygen Tanks
  • Nebulizer Machines
  • Thermometers
  • Sharps, Epi-pens or anything with a needle or lancet

If MedDrop is Not Available

MedDrop is the best way to dispose of medicines, or pharmaceuticals. If MedDrop is not available, do not flush your unused pharmaceuticals. Instead, dispose of them in the trash. Especially when there is a risk of accidental poisoning, overdose or diversion, it is better to dispose of household pharmaceuticals rather than keep them. When placing unused pharmaceuticals in the trash, be sure to:

Remove or mark over all labels that identify the materials as pharmaceuticals or that could provide personal information about you, including prescription information that someone could try to refill;
Render them unattractive to children and thieves by dissolving them in a small amount of water or alcohol, or by grinding them up and mixing them with coffee grounds or kitty litter; and
Put them in a second container or small plastic bag and hide them in your trash.

Benefits of Using MedDrop

A safe, secure way to dispose of unwanted medications which could unintentionally be consumed by children and others, or be scavenged from the trash and sold illegally.

Medicines collected at the MedDrop locations are incinerated and disposed of in the most environmentally safe method currently available. MedDrop disposal reduces the amount of improperly disposed medicine that can eventually contaminate area rivers, lakes and streams.

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MEDDROP IS MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO GENEROUS FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF:

  • DANE COUNTY
  • DANE COUNTY NARCOTICS TASK FORCE
  • DEAN HEALTH SYSTEMS
  • MERITER HEALTH SERVICES
  • SAFE CARE WISCONSIN/METASTAR
  • ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL
  • UW HEALTH
  • CITY OF FITCHBURG
  • CITY OF MADISON
  • CITY OF MIDDLETON
  • CITY OF SUN PRAIRIE
  • VILLAGE OF CAMBRIDGE
  • VILLAGE OF DEERFIELD
  • VILLAGE OF MAZOMANIE
  • VILLAGE OF MCFARLAND
  • VILLAGE OF WAUNAKEE

Thank you to the work of MedDrop partners:

  • CLEAN SWEEP
  • DANE COUNTY NARCOTICS AND GANG TASK FORCE
  • DANE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
  • DANE COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS, HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION
  • DEAN/ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL
  • FITCHBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT
  • FITCHBURG SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING PROGRAM
  • MADISON METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE DISTRICT
  • MADISON POLICE DEPARTMENT
  • MADISON ENGINEERING DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
  • MADISON RECYCLING PROGRAM
  • MCFARLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
  • MIDDLETON POLICE DEPARTMENT
  • PHARMACY SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN PHARMACIES IN THE DANE COUNTY AREA
  • PUBLIC HEALTH – MADISON AND DANE COUNTY
  • SUN PRAIRIE POLICE DEPARTMENT
  • SUN PRAIRIE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
  • WAUNAKEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
  • WISCONSIN SOCIETY OF PHARMACY STUDENTS