MILWAUKEE -- Waukesha and Winnebago county residents will soon be able to send their unused drugs for disposal by a Milwaukee company.

The University of Wisconsin Extension, the state Department of Natural Resources and Capital Returns are starting a pilot program next week to safely dispose of unused prescriptions.

Such programs are rare due to state and federal laws about handling drugs, but there are some in the planning stages elsewhere. Wisconsin's program will be available to about 500,000 people in the two counties.

To participate, people will need to call Capital Returns to request a prepaid label. They'll ship their unused drugs to the company for free disposal.

The program is intended to keep prescriptions from entering the water supply when they are flushed or dumped in landfills.