Medication Disposal in Sheboygan County
You can make a huge impact on the quality of our environment and in reducing prescription drug abuse by properly disposing of your medications.
Location of Drop Boxes
Sheboygan County is lucky to have 5 “drug drop boxes” located in five area police stations. Access to each box is available during office hours.
Elkhart Lake Police Department – 40 Pine St., Elkhart Lake, WI 920-876-2244
Kohler Police Department – 319 Highland Dr., Kohler, WI 920-459-3977
Plymouth Police Department – 128 Smith St., Plymouth, WI 920-893-6541
Sheboygan Police Department – 1315 N. 23rd St., Sheboygan, WI 920-459-3333
Sheboygan Sheriff's Department – 525 N. 6th St., Sheboygan, WI 920-459-3111
Sheboygan Falls Police Department – 375 Buffalo St., Sheboygan Falls, WI 920-467-7902
Accepted Items
Can you spot the pills in the beads?
Controlled or non-controlled items listed in the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency’s Schedules (categories) II-V. This link will take you to list of examples for each category. Most prescriptions fall into one of these categories, so they would be accepted.
Pills can be left in pill bottles – please cross out the person’s name, address, and physician’s name – or placed in a plastic bag.
Liquid medication, such as prescribed cough medicine, should be in the ORGINAL bottle with identifying information crossed out and placed in a plastic bag.
Creams and patches should also be put in a plastic bag.
Pressurized inhalers commonly used for asthma will be accepted, but inhalers containing medicine will not. These type of inhalers should be placed in a red “medical waste” container.
EpiPens- Please dispose of EpiPens at the Sheboygan Police Department box.
For needles, please see the information below.
Registered Sharp (Needle) Collection Sites
Can you spot the pills in the Skittles?
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Waste Management maintains a list of locations that are registered sites for
sharps (needle) collection. This link will take you to the entire list for the state of Wisconsin.
As of October 13, 2014 the approved sites in Sheboygan County are the Aurora Pharmacies (Plymouth, Cedar Grove, Sheboygan Clinic, and Memorial Medical Center) and St. Nicholas Hospital.
All sharps (needles) must be in a plastic container (example – laundry detergent bottles) that can be closed.
Please note that some locations may charge you a fee for disposal.
For more information on proper sharps disposal, use this link to a handout written by the Bureau of Waste Management or SafeNeedleDisposal.org
Other Options
If you cannot deliver your items to one of the drop boxes, please make an effort to dispose of them properly through an alternative method.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recommends mixing pills and liquids in coffee grounds or cat litter, placing the mix in a plastic bag, then throwing it in the trash. This method will make the items undesirable for others who may wish to abuse the medication and protects our waterways by not flushing the medication down the toilet. For more information, use this link to a handout written by the FDA.
Funding for the Disposal Program
Funding for the proper medication disposal program comes from the Sheboygan County Department of Planning and Conservation. Each year an allocated amount of money is set aside to cover the costs of the thousands of pounds of pills and other items that are disposed of in the drop boxes.
In 2013 Sheboygan County residents turned in almost 2,000 pounds of unused medication! This makes a huge difference in protecting our environment and preventing the abuse of prescribed drugs. Thank you! and keep dropping off your drugs.
Nalox-ZONE Box Project
Emergency or not, you can take and keep the naloxone in this box.