Medications that are flushed and then dissolve into city treatment plants in Otter Tail County continue to cause concern — it's a huge problem that area sanitation services deal with on a regular basis.
There is a proper way to dispose of unwanted or outdated medications.
First, what not to do: Otter Tail County doesn’t want residents to flush medications down the toilet, as it can pollute water and harm fish or wildlife.
The county has offered a safe alternative for many years in a program called Take It To The Box, which they describe as a safe, anonymous and free disposal option that minimizes risks to health and safety.
Old or unused prescriptions, as well as over-the-counter medications, can be safely disposed of at a Take it to the Box drop box location. According to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, in 2022, the department has collected and destroyed over 1,247 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs.
The drop boxes are secure boxes at various law enforcement centers throughout the county.
Otter Tail County detective, Dion Bredman, says the program has been extremely successful.
When drop box receptacle is full, Bredman said they have a very specific procedure for safe disposal of the medications within.
“Once the bag is sealed by two people at the collection site, it’s taken back where it is then weighed. It is then put in locked garbage cans until we have enough to bring it up to the Perham incinerator. We never open up any bags."
There are a few things that people need to be aware of before they come to a drop box location. The sheriff’s office says it is important to leave the medication in its original container. Other requirements include blacking out or removing personal information from labels; however, people are asked to leave the name of the medication on the container before dropping the medication into the disposal box opening.
The sheriff’s office stresses that the program is 100% anonymous.The drop boxes are not the place to drop off syringes, needles, sharps, mercury devices, household chemicals or biohazardous waste.
The collection hours countywide are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, unless posted otherwise.
Locations include:
- OTC Sheriff’s Office – 417 Court Street South, Fergus Falls.
- NYM Government Building – 118 North Main Street, New York Mills.
- Perham Police Department – 525 West Main Street, Perham.
- Parkers Prairie Police Department – 102 North Otter Avenue, Parkers Prairie.
- Ottertail Operations Center – 469 Main Street West, Ottertail.
- Pelican Rapids Police Department – 315 North Broadway, Pelican Rapids.
- Battle Lake Police Department – 108 East Main, Battle Lake.
- Henning Police Department – 607 2nd Street, Henning.
Take It To The Box is a partnership through several Otter Tail County departments, including the sheriff’s office, public health, solid waste and local area police departments. The service is free, with the goals of the program to keep medications out of the water supply and off the streets.
More information on the program is available online at ottertailcountymn.us/content-page/unwanted-medications.
