Earth Week is coming up, which means you may be thinking of ways you can take small steps to reduce your personal impact on the environment. One significant action you can take is cleaning out your medicine cabinet—chances are you have unused, unwanted, or expired medications that can harm the environment if disposed of improperly.
Responsible medication storage and disposal helps keep our campus community safe by preventing misuse, overdose, and other harm. It also helps us protect the environment. Improperly disposing of medications, such as by flushing them down the toilet or placing them in general trash collection, can contaminate soil and groundwater, which can poison people, pets, and wildlife.
Here’s how you can do your part to protect our community and the environment during Earth Week—and year-round.
Safe disposal options
At this time of the year, many people are taking on spring cleaning projects, and many students are preparing to move out of residence halls and apartments. This means it’s especially important to be aware of safe disposal options available on campus and in the Madison community.
There are several options available for safe medication disposal:
- Medication Drop Boxes: Throughout the year, the University of Wisconsin Police Department offers a medication drop box that’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1429 Monroe St. Local pharmacies, and many fire stations, municipal buildings, and hospitals offer medication drop boxes for safe disposal. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) also offers an online tool for finding a designated collection site near you.
- Medication Take-back Events: The DEA, University Health Services, and local public health agencies offer medication take-back events throughout the year.
- Safe At-Home Disposal: You can also use a drug deactivation bag, such as a Deterra bag, to safely dissolve and dispose of medication at home.
Learn more about safe medication storage and disposal.
Upcoming medication take-back events
To provide an opportunity to dispose of unused, unwanted, and expired medications, University Health Services, in partnership with UWPD, is hosting two medication take-back events this April. Mark your calendar!
- Dejope Hall: April 23 from 11am–2pm. View event details.
- Gordon Dining & Event Center: April 24 from 4–6pm. View event details.
These events are open to all UW–Madison students, faculty, staff, and visitors and are hosted as part of Earth Fest.
You can dispose of most prescription and over-the-counter medications (like vitamins, cold medicine, and Tylenol) at a medication take-back event. These events also provide an opportunity to connect with campus and community resources related to harm reduction, overdose prevention, and sustainability. Pick up a medication lockbox, receive a 5-minute Narcan demo, and take home a drug deactivation bag.
Thank you for doing your part to keep our campus community—and the environment—safe.