March 19, 2024

Safe disposal: Despite rain, annual JCSO drug drop a success

Jasper County reserve deputy sheriff Tyler Clement waited in his squad car outside the Newton Fire Department Saturday avoiding the rain. In the seat next to him sat a box of expired prescription drugs.

The deputy sat ready to collect Jasper County residents’ unwanted prescriptions as part of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office annual Drug Take-Back Day.

A partnership with the workplace and substance abuse service nonprofit Employee and Family Services of Des Moines, the JCSO collects expired, unwanted and unused medication once per year to depose of the substances in an environmentally safe way and prevent their use in potential abuse.

By noon Saturday, Clement had collected nearly three large boxes full of medications, and he expected much more before the day was out.

“Usually we have a tent up and we’re sitting outside, but today with the rain we’re just doing a drive-up,” Clement said as he but a plastic lining inside a new box. “I’ll probably have all six boxes filled by the end of the day.”

Shortly after the new receptacle is ready to go, Rod Porter, of Monroe, walks into the fire station out of the rain. He has three plastic sacks and one cardboard box of expired prescription drugs to hand in. Porter, an organ transplant recipient, said the drop helps him recycle old prescriptions more conveniently.

“I took a lot of medication before, and I took a lot of medications after, so this drop is great for me,” he said.

According to Clement, the drug drop can’t collect sharps such as needles and syringes, which should to go to a medical provider to be properly disposed. Besides patients, Clement said in-home health care providers also utilize the service. All unwanted drugs will be taken to an incinerator for disposal.

There has historically been two drops for the annual event — one in Newton and one in a smaller, surrounding community. Last year a drop was set up in Sully and this year Colfax hosted a site.

At the Colfax Fire House, traffic was a bit slower. By 11 a.m. Saturday, Colfax Fire Department Lt. Cathy Freestone and reserve sheriff’s deputy Jacob Halferty had received two drop-offs. But Freestone said that those submissions were two less opportunities for the drugs to be abused or found by kids.

To find more information about disposing of unwanted medications throughout the year, contact the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at 641-791-0402 or your health care provider.

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com