Home Medical Waste
Over-the-counter and prescription medications should not be disposed of down the drain. Wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove pharmaceutical compounds and they may end up in your local waterways, and may eventually be found in drinking water. Properly disposing of unwanted and expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications promotes a healthy aquatic environment and prevents accidental poisoning and intentional abuse.
Somerset County Sheriff Frank J. Provenzano and the Somerset County Solid Waste Management Division invite county residents to take advantage of the Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-Off medicine-collection program. The program is held in conjunction with scheduled Somerset County Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. Sheriff's officers are on hand to accept unwanted or outdated prescription and over-the-counter medications from residents for safe disposal.
Scheduled drop-offs are as follows: March 18: Bernards Township Public Works Garage, 277 South Maple Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920; April 15: Warren Township Public Works Garage, 1 Bardy Road, Warren, NJ 07059; June 17: New Location: Franklin Township Senior Community Center Parking Lot, 505 DeMott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873; Sept. 16: Branchburg Township Public Works Garage, 34 Kenbury Road, Branchburg, NJ 08876; and Oct. 21: South County Public Works Garage, 410 Roycefield Road Hillsborough, NJ 08844.
The Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-Off program is sponsored by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, the Somerset County Solid Waste Management Division and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Medications should be dropped off in their original packages or bottles. The name of the medication should be visible. Illegal drugs, liquid medications, needles and sharps should not be brought to the drop-off.
In Somerset County, needles and syringes of any kind can be dropped off at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, located at 110 Rehill Ave. in Somerville. NJ, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (908) 685-2200, ext. 3258 for more information about the Safe Syringe Program. More information about the Safe Syringe Program is available through the NJ Hospital Association, 760 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ 08543 – 609-275-4000.
Residents unable to participate in the scheduled drop-off events can take advantage of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Medicine Collection Drop Box, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, no questions asked. The drop box is located on the lower level of the Somerset County Administration Building at 20 Grove St. in Somerville, near the entrance to the Sheriff’s Office.
For the convenience of residents, additional drop boxes are located at participating municipalities. Following are municipal 24/7 medicine drop-box locations that are part of the program: Bernards Township Police Department, 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920- (908) 766-1122; Branchburg Police Department, 590 Old York Road at Route 202 North, Branchburg, NJ 08876-(908) 526-3830; Franklin Township Police Department, 495 DeMott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873-(732) 873-5533; Hillsborough Township Police Department, 379 S. Branch Rd., Hillsborough NJ 08844-(908) 369-4323; and North Plainfield Police Department, 263 Somerset St., North Plainfield, NJ 07060-(908) 769-2937.
For more information regarding medicine collection, contact Capt. Steve SanAntonio at (908) 231- 7168, Sheriff’s Officer Nick Fazio at (908) 231-7140, ext. 9, or visit www.co.somerset.nj.us/recycle and click on Home Medical Waste. Residents can receive notifications via text messages through Nixle by signing up at www.co.somerset.nj.us/about/emergency-alerts.
NOTE: Under NO circumstances should needles be put in any type of container and placed out for recycling collections. Needles and sharps should not be brought to First Saturday or Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events.
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