Readers of this blog may have followed that my mother passed away on February 16th of this year. With her last breathe I was an orphan at age 40, my dad having died back in 2009. I was also left with the task of emptying and cleaning out their ranch home. And is often the case, it had quite the supply of medications. Some used, others not, some prescription, others not. Regardless of the source, I found myself hold two large plastic bags full of pills, creams, inhalers, and more. What to do with them?
Tossing them down the drain or in the trash puts current and future generations at risk -- a water supply contaminated with discarded meds. Harmful to fish, wildlife, and possibly us. Thankfully here in Madison there is a program called MedDrop, offering 12 year round drop off sites. One was not far from my mother's home. And it was just as the snow began to melt and Spring moved to town that I safely disposed of the medications from her home.
End of life affairs for a loved one run a huge spectrum. There are more immediate decisions about funeral and burial. Ushering and estate through probate or trust administration. Finding new homes for pets and or plants of the decedent. Filing a final tax return. And as shown here, taking a few extra minutes to make sure medications end up in a safe and proper location -- not a landfill.
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