More than 1,000 pounds of medication collected

Public Forum:

On May 8, 27 volunteers braved the cold to help collect unwanted and expired medications in the Ruby Isle parking lot. This was one of six sites across Waukesha County hosting a drug collection.

The Brookfield site volunteers collected 1,267 pounds of drugs from the 600 cars that drove through on Saturday. Collectively, the countywide effort collected a whopping 4,688 pounds of drugs. These medications will be properly incinerated.

Just think, 4,688 pounds of drugs not ending up in our waters and not getting into the hands of our teens.

This effort started with the Elmbrook School District volunteer organization Parent Network after members recognized the alarming trend of teens 12 to 17 years old abusing prescription medications. Understanding that this undertaking was huge, Parent Network collaborated with the Drug Free Communities Coalition of Waukesha County. Together these dedicated volunteers worked to bring this great service to our community.

I want to thank all who helped make the Brookfield site such a success. Community volunteers, Ruby Inc., Walgreens, Pick 'n Save, That Coffee Place, Brookfield Jr. Women's Club, Parent Network, ProHealth Care, Elmbrook Memorial Hospital, the City of Brookfield police, park and recreation and highway departments, the Waukesha County UW Extension, Drug Free Communities and all those who donated at the site.

This is a costly project, and we are funded through donations. In order to continue this service to the community we rely on private and corporate sponsorship. The final cost of our first collection in October, where we collected 3,000 pounds of medication, was $10,000. As I mentioned, this is a costly project. If you or your company would like to help us continue to offer this service and would like to be a sponsor, please contact Drug Free Communities, Erin Drout at DrugFFreeCommunities@waukeshacounty.gov or call (262) 896-8263. We appreciate any level of support.

Thank you again to all our volunteers, and thank you to all who participated.

If you would like to get involved, please contact me at sandraschultz@live.com.

Sandra Schultz

Drug Free Communities

Drug Collection Task Force

Parent Network