DuPage County officials are stepping up their fight against drug addiction by increasing the number of safe medication disposal boxes in the area.
The county board this week approved spending $40,000 to add eight more locations for their Rx Box drop-off kiosks.
“From its inception in 2009, the health department reports that more than 70,000 pounds of medication have been turned in at the county kiosks at local police departments,” county board Chairman Dan Cronin said at Tuesday’s board meeting.
“Expanding our collection efforts, we’re addressing increasing demand and providing an important preventive measure as we seek to reduce drug abuse and addiction in our county.”
The medication disposal boxes are intended to provide a safe location for residents to dispose of old prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Such drugs, when left in the home, can be taken by addicts or by teens looking for a high and possibly leading them to more serious drug abuse.
Officials say many people also do not realize that medications can enter the water supply when flushed down the toilet or thrown away in a landfill.
Walgreens announced last week that new safe medication disposal boxes will be installed at several locations in the Chicago suburbs. Locally, boxes have been placed at 63 W. 87th St. in Naperville, 1000 Ogden Ave. in Downers Grove and 324 Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn.
The 12 locations currently in place for the county’s Rx Box program include the DuPage Sheriff’s Office in Wheaton and police department headquarters in Addison, Bloomingdale, Burr Ridge, Carol Stream, Clarendon Hills, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Lisle, Schaumburg and Wood Dale.
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The city of Naperville also has safe disposal boxes for medications at their police headquarters and at the household hazardous waste facility at 156 Fort Hill Drive.
The county’s eight new locations have not been revealed.
The Rx Boxes are intended for unused prescriptions and expired over-the-counter drugs. Controlled substances, needles and inhalers are not accepted. Once collected, the medications are transported to a certified disposal location and incinerated, officials said.
Needles are accepted at the Glenside Fire Protection District in Glendale Heights. Disposal is free for fire district residents and fee-based for others.
“We’re excited that at least eight more municipalities have shown interest in becoming Rx Box locations,” said Kevin Dixon, director of environmental health services for the DuPage County Health Department. “And there may be more in the future. This is a very important issue from a public safety and environmental point of view.”
On Tuesday, the county board also approved $24,189 in additional funding for heroin prevention education to school students. The program, administered by the Robert Crown Center of Health Education, will continue at 13 DuPage County middle and high schools.
County officials said 4,800 students, parents and teachers have participated in the initiative to date.
Gary Gibula is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.