Thanks to everyone who participated in April’s Drug Take Back Day! We collected 224.7 lbs of medications!
Wisconsin is stepping up to save lives through safe drug disposal
Almost every home has one — that cabinet or drawer filled with prescriptions and other medications. And if yours is like most, it probably contains a few things you didn’t know you had, or no longer need. And that can have serious consequences.
More than 2.9 million opioid prescriptions are written every year in Wisconsin. When unused and expired medications start to pile up, it’s easy for them to fall into the wrong hands. Far too often, medications that get overlooked cause unintended harm or become a gateway to misuse.
Luckily, Wisconsinites are known for taking care of each other. And that’s precisely what we’ve been doing. Wisconsin has continually been a leader in collecting unused and expired medications during national drug take back days. In the past, upwards of 100,000 pounds of medications have been collected in a single year. That’s the same weight as two full-sized snowplows you see clearing our Wisconsin roads every winter. But the most important part of the collection effort is a statistic impossible to measure — the lives potentially saved with every safe disposal. And make no mistake — safe disposal saves lives.
This year, we are calling on more Wisconsinites to do their part to help protect our families, friends, and great communities.
How do you get started?
Easy! Just open your medicine cabinet, gather what you no longer need, remove or cover up prescription or personal information, and put them in a zip-top bag.
What next?
Simply choose a safe disposal option that’s best for you. Drug Take Back Day is October 28th, 2023 and you can bring unused or expired medications to the Health and Human Services building in downtown La Crosse anytime between 9AM and 12PM. If you can’t make it, many permanent drug drop boxes are available year-round across the state in convenient locations like pharmacies and police stations. You can also find these collection sites near you at www.alliancetoheal.org or doseofrealitywi.gov.
Guidelines:
All waste pharmaceuticals must be generated by a household – no businesses are allowed.
Bring: Prescription (controlled and non-controlled) and over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, inhalers, non-aerosol sprays, creams, vials and pet medications. Vape pens or other e-cigarette devices (batteries removed).
Do Not Bring: 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.
Wisconsin is stepping up to save lives through safe drug disposal
Almost every home has one — that cabinet or drawer filled with prescriptions and other medications. And if yours is like most, it probably contains a few things you didn’t know you had, or no longer need. And that can have serious consequences.
More than 2.9 million opioid prescriptions are written every year in Wisconsin. When unused and expired medications start to pile up, it’s easy for them to fall into the wrong hands. Far too often, medications that get overlooked cause unintended harm or become a gateway to misuse.
Luckily, Wisconsinites are known for taking care of each other. And that’s precisely what we’ve been doing. Wisconsin has continually been a leader in collecting unused and expired medications during national drug take back days. In the past, upwards of 100,000 pounds of medications have been collected in a single year. That’s the same weight as two full-sized snowplows you see clearing our Wisconsin roads every winter. But the most important part of the collection effort is a statistic impossible to measure — the lives potentially saved with every safe disposal. And make no mistake — safe disposal saves lives.
This year, we are calling on more Wisconsinites to do their part to help protect our families, friends, and great communities.
How do you get started?
Easy! Just open your medicine cabinet, gather what you no longer need, remove or cover up prescription or personal information, and put them in a zip-top bag.
What next?
Simply choose a safe disposal option that’s best for you. Drug Take Back Day is October 28th, 2023 and you can bring unused or expired medications to the Health and Human Services building in downtown La Crosse anytime between 9AM and 12PM. If you can’t make it, many permanent drug drop boxes are available year-round across the state in convenient locations like pharmacies and police stations. You can also find these collection sites near you at www.alliancetoheal.org or doseofrealitywi.gov.
Guidelines:
All waste pharmaceuticals must be generated by a household – no businesses are allowed.
Bring: Prescription (controlled and non-controlled) and over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, inhalers, non-aerosol sprays, creams, vials and pet medications. Vape pens or other e-cigarette devices (batteries removed).
Do Not Bring: 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.
- Participants may dispose of solid, non-liquid medication(s) by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into a disposal box or into a clear sealable plastic bag. Plastic pill containers should not be collected. Blister packages without the medications being removed are acceptable.
- Liquids will be accepted during this initiative. However, the liquids, creams and sprays must be in their original packaging. Liquids without the original packaging will not be accepted.
- Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative and should not be placed in collection containers.
