Be a part of the addiction and pollution solution by bringing your expired, unused, and unwanted pharmaceuticals and disposing of them at the Dubois County Medication Collection on Saturday, April 26, in collaboration with the DEA National Pharmaceutical Drug Take Back Event. The Jasper State Police Post, located at 2209 Newton Street, will host the collection from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET while the Huntingburg Fire Station located at 501 E 1st Street and the Haysville Fire Station located at 195 W State Road 56 will host the two county collection sites from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The Jasper State Police Post site is a drive-through event, while the two county sites are walk-up, with drive-up available as needed. Medications are accepted anonymously, and either the resident or volunteer places them in the box for proper disposal immediately after they are received.
The Jasper Police Station located at 309 E. 6th St also accepts pharmaceuticals 24/7 year round in their drop box.
Dubois County residents are asked to rid their homes of expired, unwanted, and unused medications. Unused drugs are a common household health threat that can be lessened when you clean the old and unused meds out of your home. Don’t forget vitamins, ointments, drops, herbal products, meds that should have been kept cold but were not, and aerosols not in pressurized containers. These pharmaceuticals will be accepted at the collection sites.
No sharps (auto-injectors, needles, syringes, IV catheters, blades, lancets, auto-injectors, infusion sets, connection needle/sets, and glass), infectious materials, (anything containing bodily fluids) or waste will be collected. This collection is for private citizens only. No collections will be accepted from for profit businesses or health facilities.
The partners of this event remind residents that the correct disposal of medications creates a safer and cleaner environment, and greater public awareness reduces illegal activities and scavenging of personal property and public waste receptacles. Pharmaceuticals should never be poured down the drain or flushed down the toilet. Doing so potentially pollutes our waterways, ground water, and drinking water. Some drugs may kill the beneficial bacteria in sewage treatment plants and septic systems and may produce resistant infectious bacteria. Burning releases toxic pollutants into the air, and if thrown in the trash, medications can be scavenged from trash receptacles to be illegally sold or ingested. Keeping old medications in the home is unsafe as children or adults may confuse the medication, and it creates the potential for theft of certain medications. This collection event is the perfect opportunity to clean out the medicine cabinet and dispose of medications properly.
The Dubois County Sheriff’s Department and the Huntingburg Police Department will attend to the collection at the county collection sites, while the Indiana State Police will attend the Jasper Post site.
This project impacts the substance abuse and environmental stewardship of Dubois County communities and requires collaboration. The partners that make this successful are Dubois County CARES, Dubois County Solid Waste Management District, Dubois County Advocacy for Recovery and Prevention Council, Generations Area 13 Agency on Aging and Disability, Huntingburg and Haysville Fire Departments, Huntingburg Police Department, Dubois County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
For general information or if you have questions, contact Carla Striegel-Winner, Dubois County Solid Waste Management District, 812-482-7865, swmd@duboiscountyin.org
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