Drug collection box installed in Des Plaines Police Station
A prescription drug disposal box is now installed in the Des Plaines Police Station, 1418 Miner St., thanks to a collaborative effort of the Maine Community Youth Assistance Foundation, the Des Plaines, Niles and Park Ridge police departments and the Save A Star Drug Awareness Foundation. Residents may drop off unwanted, unused or expired prescription drugs anytime day or night in the Des Plaines Police Station, a safe, monitored location.
The box is affixed with labels that clearly describe acceptable and nonacceptable items. Collected medications are subsequently incinerated off site. Police stations in Niles and Park Ridge will also house collection boxes. The drug collection program is an example of the foundation’s efforts in Maine Township to promote healthy choices by residents and prevent drug use among youth in Maine Township. The boxes also enable residents to dispose of drugs properly, instead of medications ending up in the water supply or landfills.
The foundation, along with Des Plaines Police Chief Bill Kushner and police chiefs from Park Ridge and Niles, partnered with the Save A Star Drug Awareness Foundation, founded by David and Gail Katz of Highland Park, who lost their son, Daniel, to a drug overdose in 2007. The Katz family has made it their mission to spare other families similar grief and pain. For information about the organization, see www.saveastar.org.
Funding for the boxes was provided by Save A Star, the Des Plaines Community Foundation, Park Ridge Community Fund, Dean Media Group and MCYAF.