|
 Illinois
American Water encourages customers to participate in the Drug
Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Residents are encouraged to drop off their unwanted medications at
approved collection sites so they can be incinerated, which is the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recommended approach for
pharmaceutical disposal. Both flushing medications down the toilet
and throwing them in the trash are discouraged.
The event is Saturday, April 29, from 10 AM to 2 PM. Collection
sites participating in this event can be located by visiting
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov
/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html
Local collection sites
Lincoln Police Department
911 Pekin St
Lincoln
Clinton Police Department
118 W. Washington St
Clinton
Mason County Sheriff's Office
Mason City Iga
9:00 Am - 10:00 Am (Parking Lot)
201 West Elm
Mason City
Sherman Police Department
2629 E. Andrew Road
Sherman
Menard County Sheriff's Dept.
Athens City Hall
210 Dottie Bednarko Dr.
Athens
“This event is a great
opportunity for residents to securely drop off any unused or expired
medications,” said Bruce Hauk, Illinois American Water President.
“It’s important for us to keep these items out of our landfills and
water supplies as well as the hands of those who may misuse or abuse
them.”
Hauk added, “We encourage those who cannot participate during this
DEA event to continue to use their community pharmaceutical disposal
programs to properly dispose of their unwanted medications. Through
all of these efforts we can protect not only our water but our
community as a whole.”
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Through partnership and collaboration with local pharmacies,
environmental stewards, police departments and government officials, Illinois
American Water has helped to implement 37 permanent pharmaceutical disposal
programs across the state. These programs are located in Alton, Bartonville,
Belleville (two sites), Caseyville, Champaign (three sites), Chillicothe,
Collinsville, Columbia, Dixon, East Alton, Edwardsville, Fairmont, Freeburg,
Glen Carbon, Madison, Maryville, Morrison, Mt. Carroll, Mt. Vernon, O’Fallon,
Orland Hills, Pekin, Peoria (three sites), Peoria Heights, Pontiac, Red Bud,
South Beloit, Sterling, Streator, Urbana (two sites) and Waterloo. To find a
permanent collection program in Illinois, visit
http://www.epa.illinois.gov/services-locator/.
The pharmaceutical disposal programs were created through a model developed by
Pontiac High School Township students and their teacher Paul Ritter. The
program, P2D2, has been recognized as a model for all pharmaceutical disposal
programs. Through P2D2’s efforts, millions of pounds of unwanted medications
have been collected and disposed of properly. To learn more about P2D2 please
visit www.p2d2program.org.
About Illinois American Water
Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the
largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and
reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people.
American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality
control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating back to
1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S.
publicly-traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more
than 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based
drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million
people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found by
visiting www.amwater.com.
[Karen L. Cotton
Manager, External Affairs
Illinois American Water] |
