SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (WHBL) -- Sheboygan County residents can get rid of their unwanted medication tomorrow during the statewide Drug Take Back Day.
The event runs from 10 am to 1 pm. Sheboygan police chief Christopher Domagalski says this is a good chance to get rid of medications you aren't using any more. "You can clean out your medicine cabinets and bring all that stuff in so we can get rid of it for you so we don't have any accidents or it isn't used for abuse." Research shows that four out of five heroin addicts start by abusing prescription painkillers and many of those people get those drugs from their friends or family.
Domagalski says the effort also keeps the drugs and chemicals involved out of the environment. "We don't want them in the landfills or in the treatment plant or in our lakes, rivers or any of that. The Attorney General's office has worked with some national partners and they take them to an incinerator and incinerate them at a couple thousand degrees, and it's really the best way to dispose of them." That's an issue because testing on groundwater has shown increased levels of chemicals nad medications that don't naturally break down in the environment, leading to pollution and side effects in animals.
There are some things that you shouldn't be bringing in. "One thing that they don't take is needles and sharps, but otherwise pretty much all of your medications including liquids if they're in their original containers." Domagalski also asks you to not bring in gas containers or radioactive medicines.
The sites for disposing of medication are:
Generations, 1500 Douglas Dr., Plymouth
HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital, 3100 Superior Avenue, Sheboygan
Random Lake Fire Department, 718 Spring St. Random Lake
Oostburg Municipal Building, 1140 Minnesota Avenue, Oostburg
Howards Grove Village Hall, 913 S. Wisconsin Dr., Howards Grove
Make sure to cross out any personally identifiable information on the bottles and bring them all in a plastic bag for disposal.
Last year's Drug Take Back day collected 400 pounds of medication that were safely removed for incineration.