Southampton Hospital Installs Medication Drop Box at Village Police Station

Need to get rid of leftover or expired medication? Southampton Village police now has a pharmaceutical collection receptacle for the public to use. 

Southampton Hospital recently installed the container in the lobby of the village police department to provide a secure and appropriate disposal location for local residents’ old medications. 

"Medications should never be flushed down the toilet because they can make their way into our local waters. If left in the medicine cabinet, medications can pose an accidental ingestion risk to children and pets," the hospital said in a statement. "Medication that is unused or expired should always be disposed of properly. 

Last month, The Group for the East End announced a new program that it launched with East End police departments and the county. Permanent medication drop boxes were installed at Southampton Town, East Hampton Town and Village, Southold Town, Shelter Island Town, Sag Harbor Village, Westhampton Village, and Riverhead Town police department headquarters. 

The collection receptacle at the Southampton Village police department is separate, but the intent is the same. 

The police departments will be bringing the medications to an incinerator approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation to ensure they are properly disposed.