By Cynthia Grau and Greg Halbleib
Several local police agencies are taking back expired and unused drugs on Saturday to dispose of them safely.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. People often simply choose to flush or toss old drugs, which creates the risk of them ending up in the water supply.
Illinois American Water serves several local communities including Pontiac. Company spokeswoman Karen Cotton said with a lot of spring cleaning taking place, this weekend’s events will provide a safe place to take those old medications.
“Participating police departments will collect them, then the Drug Enforcement Agency actually sponsors this event and they make sure the drugs that are collected are disposed of through incineration, so they don’t get into the water supply, they don’t get flushed down the drain, they don’t get into landfills and they don’t also get misused or abused,” Cotton said.
Police are accepting expired drugs on Saturday from 10 to 2 at most local departments including Bloomington, Normal, Heyworth, El Paso, LeRoy, Clinton, Farmer City, Lincoln and Pontiac.
“What that means is area police departments participate in taking back unwanted medications,” Cotton explained. “They can be over-the-counter or prescription medications that are no longer needed. It’s actually really good timing, because a lot of people are doing their spring cleaning, so people can clean out their medicine cabinets and get rid of items they no longer need and do it safely.”
To find a participating collection site, visit deadiversion.usdoj.gov or click here to search.
Cynthia Grau can be reached at [email protected].
