Medicine Collection
Notice
Police department collections are ONLY open to residents within the participating community. The drop box is located in our lobby which is open 24 hours a day.
There is an easy way to get rid of unused or expired medication all year long. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is working with more than a dozen police departments in Milwaukee County to provide medicine collections all year long.
Never flush or pour unused meds down the drain. Water reclamation facilities are not designed to remove all of them and trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are showing up in rivers and lakes around the world.
Unused pharmaceuticals will ONLY be accepted in a clear plastic bag (ziploc).
The public will be required to empty unused pills from the container into a clear plastic bag. Dispose pill bottles or containers in your recycling in or the garbage. You do have to take pills out of flat, plastic, pillow or bubble packaging. Liquids, creams, and sprays can remain in the original container.
You CAN bring:
- Prescription and over-the counter medication
- Ointments
- Sprays
- Inhalers
- Creams
- Vials
- Pet medications
You CANNOT bring:
- Illegal drugs
- Needles/sharps
- Bio-hazardous material (anything containing bodily fluid or blood)
- Personal Care products (shampoo, soaps, lotions, sunscreens, etc.)
- Household hazardous waste (paint, pesticides, oil, gas)
- Liquids (cough medicine, OTC liquid, liquid Tylenol, etc). This can be disposed of by putting in cat litter (let the litter soak up the medicine), then dispose the litter in the garbage.
Why Should We Care?
The removal and disposal of unused medications from the home helps to keep others from accessing these drugs for illegal use, sale, and may prevent overdoses.
Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove all medicines from wastewater. Drugs can end up going through the plants and directly to our rivers and lakes. Various levels of antibiotics, anti-depressants, veterinary drugs, birth control hormones and other drugs have been detected in waterways across the United States. Research suggests that hormones found in pharmaceuticals may cause abnormalities in the reproductive cycles of fish. Antibiotics in the environment may also contribute to the development of drug resistant germs.
Any more questions or to see if your department participates in the Medicine Collection see: http://www.mmsd.com/NewsDetails.aspx