MedDrop - The Best Place to Get Rid of Medicines
Unwanted, unused prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines can be found in every household in the county. We know that it’s not safe to keep unneeded medicines in the house – children and others can accidentally take them. But you’ve also heard that you shouldn’t flush medicines down the toilet or put them in the trash. We now know that these medicines are bad for our environment – our water, our lakes and the animals in them.
So... how should you get rid of your medicines?
Bring your unneeded medicine to MedDrop. This free service is available to all Wisconsin residents.
MedDrop Doubles its Drop Box Locations
4 locations now available Dane County residents now have access to two additional year-round MedDrop box sites. As of November 15, drop boxes are now available at:
- Fitchburg Police Department - 5520 Lacy Road (view map)
Available 7:30 am-4:30 pm Monday-Friday . - Sun Prairie Police Department - 300 E. Main Street (view map)
Available 24 hours in the lobby
The first two pilot MedDrop boxes continue to be available at: .
- Madison Police East Precinct, 809 South Thompson Drive (view map)
Available 8am-4pm Monday-Friday . - Middleton Police Department, 7341 Donna Drive (view map)
Available 24 hours in the lobby
Poisoning deaths are now the nation's and Dane County's number one cause of injury-related death, surpassing traffic crashes When MedDrop choose Safe Communities to adopt the program it was with the vision of establishing county-wide access to drop boxes so that safe handling of medicines became routine and is not dependent upon once or twice a year events.
MedDrop boxes have been identified as a key strategy to reduce access to drugs. Our pilot boxes in Middleton and at the Madison-East precinct have proven a success collecting over 2.5 tons of medicine in just 12 months.
We are so pleased that the City of Sun Prairie and Fitchburg have joined to expand Safe Communities effort with this very vital partnership. By the end of the year we will have a network of boxes throughout the county. Sign up for an email notice of the new MedDrop boxes.
How to use MedDrop
To dispose of medications in the MedDrop drop boxes, please bring your unused or expired medication and place it in the drop box.
Empty contents of pill bottles into a zip lock bag and recycle your pill bottles at home. If you have liquids, gels or creams, please leave those in their original containers and place them in a ziplock bag as well. Then bring your medicines in ziplock bags and drop them in the drop box.
See opposite for a list of items that you can and can't dispose of at MedDrop drop boxes.
The benefits of using MedDrop
People want to get unused medicines out of the house because there is a chance that unwanted drugs may accidentally be consumed by children and others. Medications can also be scavenged from trash and sold illegally.
Current regulations do not allow people to get rid of medications in an environmentally-friendly way. MedDrop raises awareness of this problem and provides a solution for all Wisconsin residents.
Getting rid of medicines by flushing them down the toilet isn’t the answer.
- An extensive nationwide study by the US Geologic Survey has found evidence of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics and hormonal drugs, such as birth control pills, in surface waters throughout the nation.*
- In Dane County, the Geological and Natural History Survey found acetaminophen and two hormones in water coming from septic systems in a new Sun Prairie subdivision.*
- The Wisconsin Laboratory of Hygiene discovered accumulations of endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in drugs such as birth control pills that mimic natural hormones in water entering and leaving Madison’s sewage treatment plant.*
- According to the World Health Organization, antibiotics in water supplies are a potential concern because the most frequently used antibiotics are becoming less effective as the infections they are designed to combat become resistant. That resistance increases with heightened exposure to the drugs.
- Research has shown that drugs containing hormones are causing changes and deformities in fish and other aquatic creatures.
More research still needs to be done to determine the effect of long-term human exposure, but the available research suggests that we need to keep medicines out of our waterways.
* The Wisconsin State Journal, “Flushed drugs polluting water,” December 10, 2006.