Round Lake Park police will pick up unwanted medications at homes

In a unique twist on a common initiative, Round Lake Park police will be available for house calls to pick up unwanted prescription drugs beginning Monday.

"We're the first. We vetted it and talked about and looked at every single angle," Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said.

Residents currently can dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medications in a collection box in the lobby of the police station, 215 E. Main St. But some residents can't get there, Filenko said.

The house call idea began percolating, Filenko said, after he found several plastic shopping bags in a cabinet while cleaning his late father's house.

"They were just loaded with prescription bottles," he said.

Filenko said he has seen "tons of prescriptions" during calls to houses in the village. And, as a founder of the Lake County Opioid Initiative, he thought a home pickup might be a way to address that.

Round Lake Park's program will be an option for those who can't drive or have transportation problems or health-related issues that keep them homebound.

"We have an expanding senior population and it's directed to people who can't get to us. We're offering pickup service," he said.

Studies show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets, according to police.

Those medicines are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse, Filenko said, and flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash can pose environmental and health hazards.

Prescription drug drop-off events, such as one last year at Saddlebrook Farms senior living community, are popular but difficult to organize, he said. At that event, 200 pounds of medication were collected in four hours.

"It got so busy, it was almost like a drive-through," Filenko said.

The house call disposal program will be available 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, except for holidays when the station is closed to the public.

Officers have been trained and the new program will be advertised in the village and local newsletters and other sources.

"You want to catch every loophole. We're going to treat it like a chain of custody," Filenko said.

Anyone interested in the service should call (847) 270-9111 and an available officer will be dispatched.

"If we're getting inundated with (other) calls, obviously, we're not going to be available. But we think it's important to still get to the issue," Filenko said. In that instance, arrangements will be made to make the pick up as soon as feasible.

Illicit drugs or medical waste, including syringes, biological samples, vials, tubes, transdermal patches or over-the-counter medication will not be accepted.