ALTON – Flushing drugs down the toilet is an unsafe practice, which ultimately harms the quality of an area's water supply, the same applies to throwing them in the trash.
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So what should someone do with an elderly loved one's menagerie of prescriptions when they pass? What about their own prescriptions when they expire or are no longer needed? That answer is being provided by Illinois American Water with the help of local police departments. Illinois American Wate has provided drug take back boxes to several local law enforcement agencies, including the Alton and Wood River Police Departments as well as the Madison County Sheriff's Office. Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons encourages folks to bring unneeded prescriptions to his station's take back box instead of disposing of them in hazardous ways. Saturday, April 27, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which brings awareness for proper disposal of these substances.
“We want folks to bring them in here and drop them off in the box, no questions asked,” he said.
Whatever is disposed of into the take back box will be held in the Alton Police Department's storage locker until it can be disposed of by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Simmons said.
Getting rid of unneeded and potentially dangerous lingering prescriptions in safe measures can also improve the quality of a municipality's water supply.
“Experience shows that the most effective and cost-efficient way to ensure high-quality drinking water is to keep our source waters clean,” Illinois American Water Director of Quality and Environmental Compliance Randy Pankiewicz said in a release. “This event is a great opportunity for residents to securely drop off any unused or expired medications, helping to prevent flushing of drugs where they could eventually end up in our waterways. It's important for us to keep these items out of landfills and water supplies as well as the hands of those who may misuse or abuse them. Through these efforts, we can help protect our water and community.”
Simmons said the drug take back box in the Alton Police Department is sometimes used for the disposal of illegal narcotics, including pills taken for recreational use and even bags of cannabis. He said he encourages people who want to rid themselves of illegal drugs found in the home to take them to the police station. He said those folks would not face charges, as he would rather get the substances out of the home and disposed of safely. When it comes to mystery drugs found out in the world, however, he said exercise caution and contact police.
“With the opiods like Fentanyl and heroin buttons out there floating around in people's yards or on the side of the road or in parking lots, we ask people to contact the police department,” he said. “We will send an officer out there to take the substance into our custody.”
He advised such caution as substances such as Fentanyl are so toxic at small doses, people have suffered overdose reactions from mere contact with the skin.
Illinois American Water invites people unable to take part in the take back to utilize their nearest disposal area at their earliest convenience. The drug take back program utilizing secured drop-off boxes was first pioneered through a program down by students of Pontiac Township High School under the instruction of teacher, Paul Ritter. Through that effort, millions of pounds of unwanted medications have been collected and destroyed without any increased harm to essential waterways, according to a release from Illinois American water.
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