Final regularly scheduled medication drop off this month

Unlikely that DEA will fund future medication disposal, increasing cost for county

LA CROSSE COUNTY, Wis. (WKBT) — A medication collection in La Crosse County this month will likely be the last regularly scheduled one.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced new rules for taking back medication.

It opens up more agencies like pharmacies and long term care facilities to have drug drop off boxes with specific requirements. However large scale events like we’ve commonly seen in the past few years are unlikely to continue.
New rules will require that only police officers handle any medication turned in and

the DEA most likely won’t fund the disposal. And that could get expensive.
The last time the La Crosse County Household Hazardous Waste sponsored a collection it cost about $1,800 for 200 pounds of medication.

“Ultimately it’s going to have a positive impact in the sense that there will be more options available as different entities do start to have collections, there’s still a lot of questions and still a lot of things to be worked through,” said La Crosse County Special Waste Manager Randy Nedrelo.

The special waste manager says the new drop boxes at law enforcement agencies shouldn’t be effected as long as the departments fund the disposal.

The medication drop off mentioned is set for September 27. It will be hosted at the Onalaska and Holmen Police Departments.