Village of Westmont
Date Issued: September 1, 2021
On Saturday, October 23, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Westmont Police Department will participate in the National DEA-sponsored Drug Take Back Day. The drug takeback program provides citizens with a safe method of disposing unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs. This year, there will be three locations: the Westmont Police-Fire Facility at 500 N. Cass Avenue, Westmont Fire Department, 6015 S. Cass Avenue, and Mariano’s, 150 W. 63rd Street in Westmont.
“This is an important program that allows residents the opportunity to safely dispose of old medications and other items that are no longer wanted,” said Westmont Police Sgt. Mike Weibler. “This program also disposes of unwanted drugs in an environmentally-safe manner and helps to keep these items from entering the fresh water supply.”
To participate, citizens will bring their unwanted drugs to one of the three locations. Participants will stay in their vehicles as they drive through the collection area. Members of the Westmont Police Department and event volunteers will be on-site to receive all medications delivered and ensure safe disposal of these drugs. Following is a list of items that will and will not be accepted during the collection:
ACCEPTED
- Pills, powders, and patches
- Liquids, creams, and inhalers are accepted and should be packaged separately
- Needles and/or sharps MUST be secured in a Sharps container to be accepted during this program
NOT ACCEPTED
- NO radioactive medicines
- NO EpiPens
- NO loose Sharps
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in 2019.
For more information regarding Westmont’s participation in the National DEA-sponsored Drug Take Back Day, contact Sgt. Mike Weibler at mweibler@westmont.il.gov or 630-981-6373.
NEW RxBOX PROGRAM
The Westmont Fire and Police Departments have recently partnered with the DuPage County Health Department to provide a prescription drug drop box in the lobby of the Police-Fire facility. Residents now have access to the RxBOX during regular Police Department office hours when the lobby is open, Monday thru Friday from 8am-4pm. RxBOX is a convenient and accessible way for citizens to dispose of unwanted medications that might otherwise be misused or end up in our waterways or landfills.
RxBOX - Disposing Instructions
- Bring household medication including over-the-counter, prescription medications, inhalers, ointments and liquid medications that are expired or no longer wanted
- All medications must be contained in a zip-seal type bag prior to disposal
- If you plan to recycle the original container/packaging, remove any personal information on the label to reduce concerns about personal identification information
- Deposit your medications in the white collection container marked "RxBOX". Do not dispose of medication in the green collection container for “sharps”
- Additional RxBOX program information can be found on the DuPage County Health Department website.
RxBOX - Items Not Accepted
The following items are NOT accepted in the RxBOX:
- NO household chemical waste
- NO medical waste
- NO radioactive medicines
- NO sharps, needles, or EpiPens are accepted in the RxBOX, however, there is a Sharps Disposal Kiosk in the Police-Fire facility lobby at 500 N. Cass Avenue. Visit the Police Department FAQ page for more information regarding sharps disposal.
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