RX DRIVE-THRU MEDICINE DROP-OFF SATURDAY MAY 30 IN HILLSBOROUGH

HILLSBOROUGH – Somerset County Sheriff Darrin J. Russo invites county residents to take advantage of the next Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-Off to safely dispose of unwanted or outdated prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. The event will occur rain or shine on Saturday, May 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the South County Public Works Garage, located at 410 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough 08844.

Medication must be in the original package with the name of the medication visible. Personal information such as the patient’s name and address should be removed from the label. Do not bring illegal drugs, needles or sharps to the drop-off.

"The focus of this ongoing program is to protect the environment and get rid of unused and outdated medicine that is potentially dangerous," said Sheriff Russo. “For nearly 10 years, county residents have shown support for the drop-off program, and our communities are safer because of their efforts.”

“Leftover medicine poses serious safety and health threats,” said Sheriff Russo. “When medicine is flushed down the drain or toilet, it can impact the environment by contaminating bodies of water, polluting drinking-water supplies and harming wildlife."

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, although many people take medication responsibly, an estimated 18 million people misused medication at least once in 2017. As shown by the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 2 million Americans misused prescription pain relievers for the first time in that year, which means there was approximately 5,480 incidents of drug misuse per day.

As reported by the USDEA, prescription drugs including opioids and antidepressants are responsible for more overdose deaths than street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines. Mistakenly, many teenagers believe that prescription drugs are safer than illegal drugs and that prescription painkillers are not addictive.

To help protect county residents, the Somerset County Sheriff's Office, the Somerset County Solid Waste Management and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) sponsor the Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-Off, a medicine-collection program. The program is held in conjunction with all Somerset County Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events.

Additional Somerset County Drop-off Locations
Residents can drop off medicine at 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.

Additional medicine drop boxes are located at the following locations: 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. For more information about medicine collection in Somerset County, contact Captain Steve SanAntonio at 908-231-7168.