Drop Boxes for Old Meds

Eight months ago, the Medford chiefs went to a convention in Florida and won a “med-return” box. They set it up in the city all lobby, and it immediately began to be filled by citizens who brought in the leftover pills that had been in drawers and cabinets inside their homes. When the Recology Ashland Sanitary Service heard about the idea, they fabricated and donated two big, steel, tamper-proof drop-boxes for Talent and Ashland free of charge.

"It was the right thing to do," says Risa Buck of Recology. "It's a huge concern for people, and we haven't had an appropriate place for them to go."

What’s all this about? Well, on the one hand there are people who just leave their leftover prescription and over the counter meds in their homes. This becomes a problem when their relatives or neighbors or the area burglars help themselves and then sell the pills at a large profit to teens and others who are looking for a high.

On the other hand, some people just throw them into the trash. Having them in the waste system can cause landfills to be contaminated by drug residues called “leachate” which settle to the bottom of the landfill. The biggest concern is that the pills could end up in the water system.

Deputy Medford Police Chief Tim Doney said, "The boxes have proven very popular. We have to empty it a couple times a week, and there's 400 or 500 pounds in there. I didn't think there would be such a big turnout. This is a real shocker."

The police from Medford, Talent and Ashland and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department take turns driving the discarded drugs to the hazardous-material disposal sites, with two officers along for security. Talent Police Chief Mike Moran said, “It solves a lot of problems for us. We've been looking for something like this.”

Sounds like a good project for the rest of the cities in Oregon as well. For several years, there has been a national drug drop day on April 30th that has been very helpful. But having these boxes around so that every time someone has leftovers they get collected will achieve much better results.