1,500 pounds of unwanted prescription, OTC medicine disposed in Madison County's for Rx 4 Safety initiative

Jun 21, 2016 4:52 PM

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EDWARDSVILLE - On Friday, June 10, 2016, deputies from the Madison County Sheriff's Office made their third drop off in regard to the recent "Rx for Safety" prescription drug initiative.

Sheriff John D. Lakin, in partnership with all the Police Chiefs in Madison County, in this third collection, have collected 1,500 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter medications. These medications have been disposed off at a federally regulated location, approved by the E. P. A. (Environmental Protection Agency). Since implementation of the Rx4Safety program in April 2014, the Sheriff's Office has disposed over more than 4,000 pounds of medication.

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This is a collective effort, between the community and law enforcement, to protect the environment from the improper disposal of medications/drugs and to keep our prescription medications from being ingested accidentally, stolen or misused.

Secured drop off bins are located at the following Police Departments: Alton, Bethalto, Collinsville, East Alton, Edwardsville, Granite City, Highland, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Roxana, SIUE, Troy and Wood River. These bins were provided by CVS Pharmacy, Republic Waste and the American Water Company.

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The outstanding part of this initiative is that these drop off locations are available to citizens 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Citizens don't have to wait for a specific date to get these items out of their homes.

These are the items we CAN accept: Any over the counter medications, vitamins, liquids, narcotics, cough syrup, prescription medicines, hormones, painkillers, antibiotics, ointments, oils and any unidentified bills.

These are the items we CANNOT accept: Oxygen tanks, asthma inhaler, mercury thermometers, hearing aids, household waste and sharps or needles.

If you have any information regarding this initiative, please feel free to contact Jaimie Linton, Administrator of Business Affairs for the Madison County Sheriff's Office at 618-296-4850.

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