This Saturday, you can help keep your loved ones and neighbors safe by cleaning out your medicine cabinet. Drop off your unused or expired medications and sharps at convenient locations in Eau Claire and Altoona for safe disposal on Saturday, October 25, National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
It’s free, anonymous, and fast. Just drop off your medications and sharps between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Altoona Police Department (1904 Spooner Ave.) or at the Eau Claire County Government Center (721 Oxford Ave., in front of the main courthouse entrance).
Here’s how it works: Gather your expired or unneeded medications and sharps. Remove or cover any personal information on the prescription label. Drive to one of the two drop-off locations. No need to leave your vehicle – just roll down your window and one of our volunteers will collect your items!
What’s accepted:
- Sharps, including needles, lancets, syringes, auto-injectors, and other sharps devices
- Prescription and over-the-counter medications
- Ointments
- Patches
- Non-aerosol sprays
- Inhalers
- Vials
- Pet medications
- Liquid medications, creams, and sprays (must be in their original packaging)
“When you bring your expired or unused medications to a Take-Back Day event, you’re keeping your loved ones, pets, and community safer,” says Sarah Dillivan-Pospisil, public health specialist with the Health Department. “Keeping unused medications in your home can lead to misuse or accidental poisonings, and those medications can end up in our water systems. This is a great chance to safely dispose of them and de-clutter your medicine cabinet!”
Since 2012, more than 44,000 pounds of medication have been collected in Eau Claire County via Take-Back Day events and permanent medication drop boxes.
If you can’t make it to the Saturday event, don’t hold onto your medications, flush them, or dispose of them in the trash.
There are 13 permanent medication drop boxes and nine permanent sharps drop boxes available year-round throughout Eau Claire County.
Find a drop box near you by visiting www.echealthalliance.org/news/medication-drop-box-locations or www.echealthalliance.org/news/sharps-disposal.
