ROCK COUNTY, Wis. -- A new program in Rock County is helping get leftover prescription medicines out of homes and out of the hands of children after a local teen overdosed.

Recently, Alex Aiken died after overdosing on prescription drugs. Now, the Milton Police Department said they are hoping to turn tragedy into action with a 24-hour drop off location where residents can take extra prescription medication.

The drop off area looks like an average post office box, but what gets placed in doesn't get sorted and sent -- it gets destroyed.

"It's secure. It's anonymous," said Lt. John Conger, with the Milton Police Department. "You simply walk up like you're putting mail in a mailbox. Put the pill bottle in, and you're done."

The location is the only 24-hour drop-off site in the county, and some parents said it will be much more convenient and promote safety.

"I know that we've had drugs in our house that have been long expired -- and the dangerous ones too," said Dan Bekta, with the Milton Parents Group. "Now that we have a place where we can drop them off right away, it's going to make a lot of parents feel better."

Medicine cabinets in many area households are now getting cleaned out.

"I think it's a great idea," said Gary Hergert, a Milton resident. "We've been hanging on to these for years, and every once in a while, they have drop offs and we miss it. We don't want to just throw them away because that's irresponsible."

The medication drop-off point will keep medicines out of the environment and out of the wrong hands, and officials said the site will be monitored 24 hours a day by surveillance cameras.

Officials said a Mercy Health pharmacist has offered to donate time to sort and destroy the discarded drugs.

Milton police said they hope the new drug drop can be a model for other locations in the county if it is successful.