National Poison Prevention Week is March 16-22, 2014. As the community begins spring cleaning, they are encouraged keep the medicine cabinet on the top of the list of things to be cleaned. The Kenosha County Division of Health is encouraging Kenosha County residents to dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medication safely so medication doesn’t:
• Get into the hands of children and cause an accidental poisoning
• Get into the hands of teens or other family member who may be addicted to prescription medications and become the gateway for more serious drug use
• Get into our area water systems
The safer, environmentally friendly method of medication disposal is through an official medication collection site. Kenosha County has recently added two new collection sites and now offers 6 permanent medication collection boxes. The “*” indicates a new site.
Kenosha County Safety Building1000 55th St., Kenosha, WI 53140
Collection Hours: Mon-Fri (8AM-5:30PM)
*Pleasant Prairie Police Department8600 Green Bay Road, Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158
Collection Hours: 24 hrs a day/7 days a week
Town of Salem Village Hall9814 Antioch Rd (Hwy 83), Salem, WI 53168
Collection Hours: Mon-Fri (8AM-4PM), excluding holidays
Silver Lake Police Department113 S. First St., Silver Lake, WI 53170
Collection Hours Mon-Fri (8AM-5PM), excluding holidays
Twin Lakes Police Department920 Lance Dr, Twin Lakes, WI 53181
Collection Hours: 24 hours a day/7 days a week
*University of Wisconsin-ParksidePolice Department
900 Wood Rd – Tallent HallKenosha, WI 53144
Collection Hours: 24 hrs a day/7 days a week
Acceptable items:• over the counter medication
• prescription medication• pet medication
• ointments & creams• sprays
NOT ACCEPTABLE are:• intravenous solutions• injectibles
• illegal drugs• biohazardous materials
• needles/sharps or syringes
Keep medication in original package. Cross out personal information. Put all medications ina sealed bag and place directly into the Medication Drop Box.
Also on Saturday, April 26th, the Kenosha County Division of Health, Pleasant Prairie Police Department and UW–Parkside Police Department are planning a FREE HOUSEHOLD MEDICATION COLLECTION. Please note that this event is for households only, not businesses.
All Kenosha County residents are invited to drop off any outdated or unused medication, including prescription medication. The event is part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative. The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
Event details are as follows:Date: Saturday, April 26, 2014Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Locations: Pleasant Prairie Police Department8600 Green Bay Rd Pleasant Prairie, WI
AND
UW-Parkside Police Department
900 Wood Rd Kenosha WI – East side of Tallent Hall
The drop off is free of charge to all Kenosha County residents
How to prepare: For quicker service, residents are asked to bring medication in original bottles, with names crossed out, and in a clear plastic bag.
Do not bring: Biohazardous Material or Sharps
The drop off is confidential and requires no pre-registration. Best of all, participants will not need to leave the comfort of their cars to turn in items for disposal. There will be law enforcement present to assure the safe collection and destruction of all medication.
For more information on the Kenosha County Medicine Collection sites, please visit http://www.co.kenosha.wi.us/index.aspx?NID=314 or call (262) 605-6700.