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The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office announced today that it has been awarded a grant from CVS Pharmacy to install a Drug Collection Unit. The new Unit will be located in the lobby of the Public Safety Center at 1102 Cornell Lane in Yorkville. The new Unit will provide residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medications, including all prescription medications. Any fees affiliated with an approved drop site through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will be paid for through the Kendall County Sheriff’s Drug and Asset Forfeiture Fund and will not cost the taxpayers of Kendall County any expenses.
The new Unit is intended to reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in residents’ homes and decrease prescription drug abuse, which has soared in recent years, especially among teenagers. More than 70 percent of teenagers say it is easy to get prescription drugs from their parents’ medicine cabinets, according to a 2014 Partnership for Drug-Free Kids study.
Sheriff Baird said, “The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office is proud to partner with CVS Pharmacy and we thank them for their commitment to help the residents of Kendall County reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in our community. Safely disposing of unused medication is critical to protecting our children and our environment. With the community’s help we can remove unwanted prescription drugs from their homes, which can help prevent experimentation, addiction, overdose and even death.”
Senior Services Deputy Wayne Dial added, “This program is a great way for senior citizens in our community to have one central location to safely and properly dispose of medication that is no longer needed.”
The new Unit will also help the citizens of Kendall County to prevent the contamination of local landfills and water supplies from unused medication. The Kendall County Solid Waste Coordinator, Marlin Hartman added, “Expired or unwanted medicines, if flushed down the toilet or drain are a source of pollution in wastewater. Sewage treatment plants are not designed to deal with drugs, these chemicals can be released into streams, lakes, groundwater, which may affect fish and other aquatic wildlife. Impacts of these medications being flushed have already been identified in biological samples of aquatic wildlife. I am appreciative of the efforts by the Sheriff’s Office for implementing this pharmaceutical collection program.”
The new Drug Collection Unit represents one of 1,000 Units CVS/pharmacy and The Medicine Abuse Project (MAP), a five-year initiative of The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, are providing across the country. This innovative donation program is the largest retail pharmacy effort of its kind to date and supports MAP’s goal to prevent a half million teenagers from abusing prescription medication by the year 2017. CVS/pharmacy is the sole retail pharmacy sponsor of this program, which builds on the company’s Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program.
"CVS Pharmacy is dedicated to collaborating with organizations like The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and local law enforcement to prevent the abuse of unwanted and expired medication,” said Josh Flum, Senior Vice President of Retail Pharmacy at CVS Health. “The installment of drug collection receptacles is part of our ongoing commitment to battle prescription drug abuse in the U.S. and to help people in the communities we serve on their path to better health.”
CVS Pharmacy also assists law enforcement by supporting local drug take back events and promoting local drug disposal collection sites. CVS Pharmacy has conducted drug collection campaigns utilizing their retail locations, including several National Drug Take Back Day events. Law enforcement agencies which operate their own on-going collection site programs can also arrange to have the address and hours of their operations posted in local CVS Pharmacy stores.
The Sheriff’s Office new Drug Collection Unit is open to the public from the hours of 8am to 4:30pm excluding county holidays. In the event a request is needed for after hours, citizens are urged to call the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number, 630-553-5856, and make a request for an after hour drop off. Drugs can be dropped off with no questions asked. Kendall County residents and CVS/pharmacy customers can also inquire about the Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program at the toll free phone number 1-866-559-8830 or visit www.cvs.com/safercommunities.
About CVS/pharmacy
CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is America's leading retail pharmacy with more than 7,700 CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drug stores in the U.S. CVS/pharmacy is reinventing pharmacy to help people on their path to better health by providing the most accessible and personalized expertise, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Health is available at www.cvshealth.com.
About the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids
The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids is dedicated to reducing teen substance abuse and supporting families impacted by addiction. We develop public education campaigns that drive awareness of teen substance abuse, and lead teen-targeted efforts that inspire young people to make positive decisions to stay healthy and avoid drugs and alcohol. On our website, drugfree.org, and through our toll-free helpline (1-855-DRUGFREE), we provide families with direct support and guidance to help them address teen substance abuse. Finally, we build healthy communities, advocating for great access to adolescent treatment and funding for youth prevention programs. As a national nonprofit, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and the public sector and are thankful to
