Everyone has old, expired medication in their bathroom cabinet or in the cupboard above the stove or other places where they store medications to keep them safe from children and pets.

It is definitely a good idea to clean out your medicine cabinet once a year to get rid of those old medications. The fact is that expired medications often lose their effectiveness, and some may even have the opposite effect and become harmful once they have expired.

Many people throw their expired medications into the garbage. We now know, however, that medicine can actually get into our soil, creating an environmental hazard. Others tend to flush any outdated drugs. This was considered the best method because there was no danger of children and pets accidentally ingesting the pills. Flushing medicine also presents an environmental hazard. In fact, traces of certain medications have actually been found in water supplies.

So what do you do with those expired medications?

If you have any medications that are out of date and you need to dispose of them, you can drop them off at the main entrance of the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, located at 408 Century Court in Franklin.

The Sheriff's Office asks that you please do the following when dropping off your medication:

• Take your prescription medication out of its original container;
• Place all medication in a sealed plastic sandwich bag;
• Do not place any personal names, drug names or prescription numbers on the bag(s).

The drop off site is available Monday - Friday, from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.

Only prescription drugs are accepted. Liquids, powders, over the counter medications, inhalers, lancets, syringes, and sharp medical devices cannot be accepted. The drop-off box is closed nights, weekends, and holidays.

Remember:

DO NOT FLUSH unused medications and DO NOT POUR them down a sink or drain.

For further information, contact the Williamson County Sheriff's Office at (615) 790-5560 or visit 

https://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/1910/Prescription-Drug-Drop-Off.