RX DRIVE-THRU MEDICINE DROP-OFF SATURDAY OCTOBER 17 IN HILLSBOROUGH

HILLSBOROUGH – The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office is holding its Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-Off on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the South County Public Works Garage, located at 410 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844. This convenient medicine collection program is a safe way for residents to dispose of their unwanted or outdated prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. The event will be held rain or shine.

Medication should be in its original package with the name of the medication visible, but all personal information such as the patient’s name and address should be removed. Illegal drugs, needles and sharps will not be accepted at the drop-off.

“County residents have been participating in the drop-off program for nearly 10 years and are safer for it,” said Somerset County Sheriff Darrin Russo. “The purpose of this program is to help protect our residents and the environment since leftover medication poses serious safety and health threats to our communities. When medication is flushed down the drain or toilet it can harm wildlife, contaminate bodies of water and end up in our drinking water.”

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, most people take prescription medications responsibly. Yet, in 2017 an estimated 18 million people have misused medication at least once in the past year; and more than 6% of those misusing prescription drugs are 12 years of age and older. The 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health has estimated that as many as 2 million Americans have misused prescription pain relievers for the first time within the past year, which averages to approximately 5,480 Americans abusing prescriptions per day. 

Prescription drugs, including opioids and antidepressants, are responsible for more overdose deaths than street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines, according to USDEA. Reported also by the USDEA, is that many teenagers mistakenly believe prescription drugs are “much safer” than illegal drugs and also think prescription painkillers are not addictive.

The Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-Off is sponsored by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, the Somerset County Solid Waste Management Division and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA). The program is held in conjunction with all scheduled Somerset County Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events.

Residents also 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.

In Somerset County:

For the convenience of residents, additional drop boxes are located at participating municipalities.  Following are municipal medicine drop-box locations that are part of the program: Bernards Township Police Department, 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920, 908-766-1122 (7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After hours, use the phone in the station house); Bound Brook Police Department lobby, 226 Hamilton St., Bound Brook, NJ 08805, 732-356-0800; 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; Warren Township Police Department, 44 Mountain Blvd., and Warren, NJ 07059, 908-753-1146; Raritan Borough Police Department, 20 1st St, Raritan, NJ 08869, 908-725-6700

Please note that liquids and syringes are not accepted at these locations.