Have you ever wondered what to do with a left-over or out-dated prescription? Where should you throw medications away?
By now, you may have already learned that it is not a wise idea to discard unused prescription medications in your trash. Many prescription medications can be harmful to the environment and wildlife that make their way into local landfills. I was always told to flush them down the toilet, but doing that may have even worse environmental implications.
Recent studies and testing have shown trace amounts of medications have made their way into local lakes, streams, and even municipal water supplies. Clearly, flushing medication is not the way to go. So where do we dispose of these potentially harmful drugs?
In 2009, the DuPage County Health Department initiated a program supplying RxBOX medication collection boxes to a network of local police stations throughout DuPage County. Since the program began two years ago, more than 10,000 pounds of medications have been collected for proper disposal. That is five TONS of potentially harmful drugs that have been kept from damaging our environment and water supply. Once collected, the medications are safely incinerated by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA).
Any type of medication can be disposed of at an RxBOX (over-the-counter medications and prescription medications).
Here is a list of RxBoX collection locations in DuPage County:
- Addison Police Department
1 Friendship Plaza, Addison, IL 60101 - Bloomingdale Police Department
2015 Bloomingdale Road, Bloomingdale, IL 60108 - Burr Ridge Police Department
7660 S. County Line Road #1, Burr Ridge, IL 60527 - Carol Stream Police Department
500 N. Gary Avenue, Carol Stream, IL 60188 - DuPage County Sheriff
501 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187 - Glendale Heights Police Department
300 Civic Plaza, Glendale Heights, IL 60139 - Lemont Police Department
416 Main Street, Lemont, IL 60439 - Lisle Police Department
5040 Lincoln Avenue, Lisle, IL 60532 - Oak Brook Police Department
1200 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, IL 60521 - Schaumburg Police Department
1000 W. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, IL 60194 - Wheaton Police Department
900 W. Liberty Drive, Wheaton, IL 60187 - Wood Dale Police Department
404 N. Wood Dale Road, Wood Dale, IL 60191
Please take the time to do the right thing, and properly dispose of your unused medications. It DOES make a difference!