UNION COUNTY — The Union County Prosecutor’s Office, Union County Police Department, and local elected officials and health professionals are urging residents to take a moment this October to dispose of their unwanted prescription medication at one of two county locations participating in the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Division of Community Affairs’ Project Medicine Drop initiative.
The initiative allows consumers to dispose of unused or expired medications anonymously, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at drop boxes resembling large mailboxes. The boxes, which are prominently marked and affixed to a floor or wall in a secure area, are located within the police headquarters of more than 40 participating departments in all 21 counties statewide, including the Union County Police Department, 300 North Ave. East in Westfield, and the Elizabeth Police Department, 1 Police Plaza in Elizabeth. A new drop box also is expected to be introduced shortly to cover the northern portions of Union County.
The participating police agencies maintain possession of the deposited drugs and dispose of them according to their normal procedures for the custody and destruction of controlled dangerous substances. They report the quantity of discarded drugs to the Division of Consumer Affairs on a quarterly basis; consumers dropped off approximately 1,600 pounds of unused medications at the boxes during the first quarter of 2013, including several hundred at the Union County Police Department drop box alone.