Take It To The Box
Beginning June 1, 2011, the new Take it to the Box program is offering residents a convenient way to safely dispose of unused prescription and over-the-counter medications. The program -- offered through a partnership among the Scott County Meth Task Force, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, and local city police departments -- is the first medication drop-off program of its kind in the south metro.
Scott County residents can drop off unused medications -- including prescription, over-the-counter, and pet medications, as well as liquid medications in leak-proof containers, and illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia (such as pipes and other objects) -- in any of the six Take It To The Box drop boxes.
These Take It To The Box medication disposal boxes are available seven days a week, 24 hours a day, starting June 1:
• Shakopee -- Scott County Sheriff’s Office, main lobby (301 Fuller Street, on the corner of 4th and Fuller)
• Savage -- 6000 McColl Drive, front vestibule of the Police Department
• Prior Lake -- 4649 Dakota Street SE, front vestibule of the Police Department
• New Prague -- 118 Central Avenue North, vestibule of City Hall/Police Department south side
These two locations are available Monday through Friday:
• Jordan -- 210 East First Street, front main lobby at City Hall (8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.)
• Belle Plaine -- 420 East Main Street, main entrance of the Police Department (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.)
Prepare your medication for disposal by leaving the medication in the original container, removing your name and personal information. Keep the name of the medication visible on the container, then bring the medication to one of the law enforcement agencies listed above and drop medication into the disposal box. All drop-offs are anonymous. The drop box locations have padded envelopes available for placing liquid and breakable bottles in to for disposal.
If disposing of illegal drugs and/or drug paraphernalia (such as pipes and other objects items), please put them in a paper bag or other container for privacy before dropping them into the disposal box. The opening of the drop box is about three by 10 inches; it is designed so that once something is dropped into the box, it can be taken out only by a law enforcement officer and is emptied daily. Periodically, a police officer and a chemist from qualified disposal company will sort the medication. Medicines will then be taken to a licensed site to be incinerated at extremely high temperatures.
Prior to this program, people commonly disposed of leftover medications by throwing them in the trash or flushing them down a sink or toilet. However, rising concerns over the environmental impact of these practices (as well as the illegal use of prescription medications) have prompted officials to ask individuals to refrain from these disposal methods or from just keeping them in the medicine cabinets and forgetting about them.
The Take it to the Box program promotes the safe use, safe storage and, in particular, safe disposal of unneeded medication. The Scott County community is serious about preventing medication misuse/abuse as well as environmentally safe disposal of unneeded medication.
If you know someone who has a large amount of unneeded medication but is unable to bring it in for disposal, friends or family members may bring medication to The Box for someone else. Please note: sharps/needles and infectious waste cannot be accepted.
The Take it to the Box program is a very cost effective program. Funding has come from local law enforcement agencies, the Scott County Meth Task Force, and the Scott County’s Sheriff’s Office. There is no charge to individuals when medications are dropped off. For more information about Scott County’s Prescription Drug Drop-Off Program, residents can call Selina at (952) 496-8244.
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MICHELLE JUNGELS
Scott County Communications Coordinator
(952) 496-8597