National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, a day aimed at preventing unwanted and unused medications from getting in the wrong hands by encouraging residents to use safe and secure medication disposal options, will be recognized Oct. 29.

Marathon County residents are encouraged to safely dispose of unwanted and unused medications by visiting a secure drop box location near them.

Multiple drop box locations in Marathon County are available to safely and responsibly dispose of unwanted medications, needles, sharps and syringes. Medications and sharps should be properly disposed of in a designated drop box, and not thrown away or flushed down the toilet; proper disposal will help protect the environment and people we love the most. Water reclamation facilities are not designed to remove all pharmaceuticals.

On Oct. 29, take your medications to one of the following locations:

  • Kronenwetter Police Department, 1582 Kronenwetter Drive, Kronenwetter, as a 24/7 location
  • Mosinee Police Department, 225 Main St., Mosinee, from 8 a.m. to noon
  • Rothschild Police Department, 211 Grand Ave., Rothschild, as a 24/7 location
  • Stratford Police Department, 213060 Legion St., Stratford, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Wausau Police Department, 515 Grand Ave., Wausau, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
    • Medication and Sharps drop boxes will be available.

Permanent medication drop boxes are also available to residents at any time of the year. Permanent medication drop boxes are available at all local police departments in Marathon County (Athens, Colby-Abbotsford, Edgar, Everest Metro, Marathon City, Mosinee, Spencer, Stratford and Wausau), including two locations that are available 24/7 (Kronenwetter and Rothschild), and at Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Marshfield Clinic Health System locations, and some local pharmacies.

Guidelines

Take: Over-the-counter or prescription drugs, prescription creams and lotions, and inhalers.

When dropping off waste pharmaceuticals, participants are asked to follow four simple steps:

  1. Take all your expired, unwanted or unneeded medications to a local drop box in the original containers.
  2. Take pills out of the original containers and place in a zip-style sealable bag (blister packs do not need to be emptied)
    1. Keep liquids, creams, ointments and inhalers in original containers and place in zip-style sealable bag.
  3. Remove any identifiable information from empty pill containers and recycle
  4. Place zip-style sealed bags into the medication drop box.

Do not take: Radioactive chemo drugs or IV bags, personal care products, vitamins, needles or syringes, and any garbage or trash.

For participants who have sharps or needles and syringes to dispose, there are four police departments with free, permanent sharps disposal boxes (Edgar, Marathon City, Spencer and Wausau). Sharps must be in an approved sharps container or hard plastic container with a secure top, such as a laundry detergent bottle. For more information and community sharps disposal locations visit www.marathoncountysolidwaste.org/sharps.

For more information on drop box locations and guidelines, visit www.marathoncountysolidwaste.org/pharmaceuticals.

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