County helps residents dispose of unneeded prescriptions

IRON RIVER– Iron County has taken it upon itself to provide it’s residents with a safe way to deal with unused medications.

If you’re trying to clean your medicine cabinet, you might not be sure how to deal with unused prescription medication, since the best way to dispose of them has changed over the years.

“Years ago we said go ahead and flush them down the toilet,” said Phil Wojdula, Iron River Aspirus Pharmacy Director, “we don’t recommend that anymore”

So Iron County has taken measures to ensure that unused prescription drugs can dispose of them properly. Two MedSafe Drug Receptacles have been set up in the county, one at the Iron County Sheriff’s Department and one at the Iron River Police Station.

“The MedSafe has really been a collaborative effort between the hospital here, Aspirus Hospital and law enforcement,” said Iron River County Sheriff Mark Valesano.

Residents of Iron River can dispose of all prescription drugs with the exception of inhalers, sharp objects and glass containers, which could puncture the bags inside the receptacle. After the bags are full, they will be transported to an area where they will be incinerated. Both the containers and the incineration of the drugs are being paid for by a grant from Aspirus. Not dealing with leftover prescription drugs properly can be very harmful for the community.

For example… “We have, not only in Iron County, but in the country and globally an opioid epidemic,” said Sheriff Valesano.

But Sherrif Valesano says the MedSafe receptacles are a good way to deal with prescriptions. He said, “It’s a great way to get those drugs, or prevent those drugs from making their way onto the street and to be misused.”

So if you or someone you know has prescriptions that they don’t need, make sure to drop them off.