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Medicine bin located in Petaluma Kaiser foyer

The Kaiser medical offices located at 3900 Lakeville Highway in Petaluma has partnered with the Safemed Program through the City of Petaluma to provide a secure and safe location for pharmaceutical disposal. The bin was installed on April 12, 2012 and collected 25 pounds of pharmaceuticals with in the first two weeks. The installation of the Safemed bin is a result of the City of Petaluma Council adoption of a resolution in October 2011 to provide funding for proper disposal of unused, unwanted, and expired pharmaceuticals. The green pharmaceutical disposal bin is located in the foyer to the pharmacy and is available Monday through Friday 8:45 AM to 6:00 PM. Adding this location to the ever growing list is important in that it provides the citizens of the southern Sonoma County a convenient location to properly dispose of pharmaceuticals.

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Sonoma Vintage House
264 First Street East, Sonoma, CA
The drop-off bin is located in the front lobby and is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Sonoma Valley Hospital
347 Andrieux Street, Sonoma, CA
The drop-off bin is located in the Emergency Department waiting room and is available seven days a week, 24-hours a day

Earlier this month another drop-off location opened at the Sonoma County Water Agency’s Administration Building located at 404 Aviation Blvd, Santa Rosa. The drop-off bin is located in the front lobby and is available during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

“The residents of Sonoma deserve the convenience and peace of mind that comes with having environmentally-friendly disposal sites. Thanks to all those involved who responded to my efforts to bring this service back to Sonoma Valley,” said City of Sonoma Mayor Joanne Sanders.

Water Agency Director Valerie Brown added, “Without the cooperation of the Sonoma Vintage House and Sonoma Valley Hospital, this program would not be possible. Safely disposing of your unwanted medicines does more than just protect our environment, it protects our youth as well by keeping medications out of the wrong hands.”

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Prescription medications are the most commonly abused substance in the U.S.  More young people age 12 to 17 years old abuse prescription drugs than any illicit drug except marijuana.  Studies show that a majority of these prescription drugs are obtained from home medicine cabinets.  According to a recent survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services administration, 70% of people age 12 years and older who abused pain relievers in 2007-2008 report they got them from a friend or relative.  And, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, 20% of U.S. high school students report abusing a prescription medication at least once in their lives.  By properly storing and disposing of your prescription medicines you can reduce the risk of their being misused or abused by family members and others.

Here is how you can help:

• Keep prescription medicines safely stored.  A locked storage area can help prevent others from accessing medicine not intended for them.
• Don’t leave medicines that are at risk for being misused and abused in plain sight or in places that are easily accessible to youth, especially pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and anti-depressants – ask your pharmacist or health-care provider if your prescription drug has abuse potential.
• And, don’t share your medicine with someone for whom it was not intended.

So, it is important to safely store your medicines while you are using them and then to safely dispose of them when you are not!

A list of locations accepting expired and usused medications free all year-round can be found on our drop-off locations page.

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Unwanted, expired or unused medicine being collected at Oakmont Village

Valley of the Moon Rotary club members assisted county and city employees in collecting outdated medicine

Just over 1,100 pounds of unwanted medicine and 137 pounds of sharps (such as hypodermic needles) were collected during the Safe Medicine Disposal Program’s “Safe Medicine Round Up Week” that took place on September 19 through September 23.

 Six drop off locations participated in the week-long program, including the Cotati Police Station, Sonoma County Water Agency, Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility, Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa, the Vintage House in Sonoma, and Oakmont Village.

“By properly disposing of medication, our community can keep our environment and waterways clean, and reduce safety and health risks associated with children or adults taking non-prescribed medications,” said Water Agency and Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District Director Valerie Brown.  “The Safe Medicine Disposal Program offers our community a way to properly and safely dispose of unwanted medication.”

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Residents can visit a participating year round drop-off location. A list of participating locations may be viewed online at www.safemedicinedisposal.org. There is no charge to participants returning medicine. Funding for this year round program has been provided by the City of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Water Agency and Russian River Watershed Association.

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Typical pill container that can be recycled. If the plastic lid is less than 4" in diameter it cannot be placed into your blue single-stream recycling cart.

The Safe Medicine Disposal team gets this questions a lot.   The short and simple answer is yes, absolutely, and please recycle those plastic pill containers. 

There are many reasons why you should recycle the containers instead of throwing them in the trash or disposing of them in the Safe Medicine Collection Bin.  When you recycle plastic you are ensuring that it will be put to use elsewhere, instead of just sitting in a landfill taking up space.  Plus, by putting only the pills into the medicine collection bin (and leaving the bulky plastic containers out), you are helping to extend the life of this valuable program.  The cost for the disposal of medication is done per collection unit (bin) and not by the weight of the unit.  Every time someone puts a plastic pill container into a medicine collection bin, it takes up valuable space.  Please empty your pills into a plastic baggie prior to disposal…and then recycle those medicine containers!!

For more information on what can and cannot be recycled visit the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency website.

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Medicine Bin at Sebastopol Hardware

Medicine Bin at the Santa Rosa Police Department

The Safe Medicine Disposal Program is changing-it-up a bit.  In addition to our regular drop-off locations at pharmacies, we have now started placing medicine collection bins at various locations throughout the County.  Currently you can find a drop-off bin at the Sebastopol Senior Center, Sebastopol Hardware and the Santa Rosa Police Department.  There will be more coming soon.

Here is how it works…

Bring your unused, expired or unwanted medication to a drop-off site.  Locate the bin (if you don’t see it – just ask an employee where it is).  Place your pills in one of the plastic baggies provided, but remember to leave liquids and creams in their original containers.  Then you simply open the chute door and dispose of your medications.  The process is as simple as dropping off your mail in a mailbox.

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