The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce the success of Saturday’s “Medicine Cabinet Clean-Out” event.

From 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, deputies were onsite at the Bluffton Public Works facility on Benton Field Rd to collect any old and/or unwanted medications for appropriate disposal. Many citizens took advantage of this event, with approximately 1,300 units (unit=1 pill bottle/container) of prescription medications and approximately 800 units of over-the-counter medications being collected.

The purpose of this event was to reach out to the citizens of BeaufortCounty with expired or leftover medicines (including prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and herbal supplements) in their homes, and provide them the opportunity to have these materials safely disposed of. Keeping expired and leftover medication in the home can lead to unintentional poisonings, especially in young children and older adults. Also a concern is that the improper disposal of medication can lead to soil and water contamination.

As an amnesty event, participants were allowed to surrender any medications without prosecution or repercussion.

Due to the extraordinary public interest, additional dates and locations have been added to this event:

• Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm at the BeaufortCounty Sheriff’s Office Hilton Head substation (7 Lagoon Rd).
• Saturday, May 1, 2010 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Public Works department (142 Shanklin Rd) in Burton.

As a reminder for upcoming events: liquid medications, syringes, lancets, and/or any medical waste WILL NOT be accepted for disposal.

The Sheriff’s Office also would like to extend its appreciation to the following agencies for their participation and continued support in these events:

• Beaufort County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Department
• Life Fit Community Health
• SC Department of Health and Environmental Control
• Beaufort Naval Hospital Pharmacy
• Beaufort Fire Department
• Beaufort-Jasper Water Sewer Authority
• Bi-Lo Pharmacy
• BeaufortCounty Solid Waste and Recycling
• BeaufortCountyParks and Leisure Services
• Hilton Head Public Service District