BELLEVILLE – Illinois American Water and Missouri American Water have been honored as finalists for the St. Louis Regional Chamber’s Ameren Corporate Citizenship Arcus Award for demonstrating exceptional commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the St. Louis region.
Illinois American Water and Missouri American Water were honored for establishing pharmaceutical drop boxes at police stations, city halls and health departments. The program’s goal is to give residents a safe and responsible way to dispose of unneeded medicines without flushing – keeping the drugs out of local rivers and off the streets. Working in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, the companies established more than 50 drop-off sites that dispose of several tons of medicines each year through incineration.
The program started in 2008 in Illinois American Water’s Pontiac District through a partnership with high school students to stop flushing of medications and the resulting impact to local water sources. The students created the model used by American Water. To date, Illinois American Water has helped to implement more than 35 permanent pharmaceutical disposal programs. To find an Illinois program visit http://www.epa.illinois.gov/services-locator/
In St. Louis County, the program is managed by Missouri P2D2, a nonprofit organization established by Missouri American Water, the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, the St. Louis County Police Department and the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. With collection boxes in 14 locations, serving more than one million people, the program is the largest of its kind in the U.S. Information and collection box locations are available at www.missourip2d2.org.
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