Last year a MedDrop box was installed in the West Police District lobby. A number of MedDrop boxes have been made available in the area, thanks to Safe Communities of Madison/Dane County (a non-profit agency that works to save lives and reduce injuries). The MedDrop box provides a safe and appropriate way to discard unused and expired medication (both prescription and over-the-counter). After the medications are deposited in the MedDrop boxes, they are are placed in 5-gallon buckets and stored in Madison Police Department secured property storage. Then, several times a year, they are conveyed to a location in the midwest where they are destroyed appropriately.
The West District's MedDrop box was installed in May of 2012. From that time until the end of 2012, more than 800 pounds of medications and packaging have been disposed of.
For more information on the MedDrop box, including what can and can't be discarded, please visit the Safe Communities website.
Here's a photo from a recent emptying of the box:
