Illinois American Water encourages
customers to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on
April 24, 2021
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[April 23, 2021]
Illinois American Water is encouraging customers to participate in the
Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
this coming Saturday, April 24, 2021.
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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. Flushing medications down the
toilet and throwing them in the trash are discouraged.
Rachel Bretz, director of water quality and environmental compliance
for Illinois American Water, explains, “We are encouraging residents
to take advantage of the drug take back events because they help
protect our environment and waterways. The event is a great
opportunity for residents to safely drop off any unused, unwanted or
expired medications.”
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Apr/22/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
Participating Illinois Take Back Day collection sites can be located
here https://tinyurl.com/
4e6kp35h.
Illinois residents who are unable to participate Saturday are
encouraged to use local, permanent community pharmaceutical disposal
programs to properly dispose of their unwanted medications. Through
partnership and collaboration with local pharmacies, environmental
stewards, police departments and government officials, Illinois
American Water has helped implement permanent pharmaceutical
disposal programs across the state. These programs and others can be
found on Illinois EPA’s Beyond the Bin map here
https://tinyurl.com/6ycvzcxj.
The map is searchable by location.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Apr/22/images/ads/current/atlantabank_lda_SFARM_2019.png)
The pharmaceutical disposal programs were created through a model developed by
Pontiac Township High School 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 unwanted medications have been
collected and disposed of properly.
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 7,000 dedicated professionals who
provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related
services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean,
affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help make sure we
keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com
[Karen Cotton, External Affairs
Manager] |