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

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.

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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