Safely Dispose of Old Medications at Public Works Garage Event

Somerset County Sheriff Frank J. Provenzano invites county residents to take advantage of an opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted or outdated prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications.

A special collection will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the South County Public Works Garage, located at 410 Roycefield Rd., Hillsborough, N.J. 08844.  The Rx drop-off is being held in conjunction with a scheduled Somerset CountyHousehold Hazardous Waste drop-off event. This is a rain or shine event. 

Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-Off is a medicine-collection program sponsored by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, the Somerset County Solid Waste Management Division and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Medications should be dropped off in their original packages or bottles with personal information such as name and address removed.  The name of the medication should be visible. Illegal drugs, needles or sharps should not be brought to the drop-off.

“Leftover medicines pose serious safety and health threats and also raise environmental concerns. Prescription-drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug problem in the United States. Among youth, seven of the top 10 abused substances are pharmaceuticals,” said Sheriff Provenzano. “Additionally, medicines flushed down the drain or toilet can contaminate bodies of water, harm wildlife and end up in drinking-water supplies.”

The October drop-off is the last off-site opportunity in 2013. However, residents also can take advantage of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office medicine collection drop box, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, no questions asked. The drop box is located on the lower level of the Somerset County Administration Building at 20 Grove St., Somerville, N.J. 08876, near the entrance to the Sheriff’s Office.

At the September Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-off, 89 pounds of unused or outdated medicine was collected to be disposed of safely.

Additional information on how to dispose of unused medicines is available at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website at www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/UnderstandingOver-the-CounterMedicines/ucm107163.pdf

For more information regarding prescription medicine collection in Somerset County, contact Lt. Steve SanAntonio at 908-231-7168 or Sheriff’s Officer Thomas Wallace at 908-231-7138.