Pharmaceutical Take Back

Summary of Pharmaceutical Take Back: 

  • Medication should NEVER be discarded down the drain. 
  • Unused, expired and unwanted medication is a health and safety risk, as well as a potential threat to waterways.
  • Pharmacies participating in the Illinois EPA pilot program may accept most medications.
  • Some police departments also offer medication take-back of all types of medication.

  • Due to new DEA regulations released in the Fall of 2014 some pharmacies have discontinued accepting medications but others are considering becoming collection sites. Please check back.

 Will County partners for Pharmaceuticals: Med TakeBack Icon

  • Illinois EPA 
  • Bolingbrook Police Dept
  • Braidwood Police Dept   
  • Crest Hill Police Dept  
  • Elwood Police Dept
  • Will County Sheriff  
  • Lemont Police Dept 
  • Lockport Police Dept  
  • Manhattan Police Dept  
  • Mokena Police Dept  
  • Monee Police Dept
  • New Lenox Police Dept
  • Orland Park Police Dept
  • Peotone Police Dept
  • Plainfield Police Dept
  • Romeoville Police Dept
  • Shorewood Police Dept
  • Wilmington Police Dept

Walgreens launched a take-all medication collection program in August 2016 at select locations
Click this link to a Map of these locations

Some Meijer and CVS locations have also become drop-off sites. Please contact your pharmacy to ask for more details.

Known sites and hours are listed below!

Will County Medication Take Back Program

This program protects Will County water resources, while reducing the materials going to local landfills. Each year thousands of tons of pharmaceuticals and personal care products enter the waste stream. Several United States Geological Survey studies over the past 7 years have found that many pharmaceuticals are surviving water treatment facilities and making their way into drinking water. The very medications that help people may be a concern to aquatic life. 
 
The EPA has asked everyone to cease "flushing" unwanted medications down the drain. The federal government is encouraging people to locate pharmaceutical take-back programs for disposal of unwanted medications.
 
Will County, in cooperation with the Illinois EPA and local pharmacies, began the area’s first permanent Medication Take-Back Program in 2007. This is a pilot program, that if successful, may be expanded.
 
Will County shall continue to offer One-Day Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events which have always accepted medications. Please share this information with friends, neighbors and family members to protect our fishing, recreational and drinking water resources.
 

Drop-Off Instructions

  • Bring only residentially generated medication items. No medications from businesses or doctor’s offices can be taken.
  • Use a permanent marker to black out your name or personal information on the label.
  • Take medications to pharmacy or collection site during drop-off operation hours ONLY.
  • Please follow directions at the drop-off site. Only give medications to the pharmacy or drop-off site personnel.
  • This is not a share or reuse opportunity. All medications received will be destroyed in the most environmentally sound manner possible.
 
Items Accepted  (Expired or Unwanted) Items NOT Accepted
Prescription Medications DEA Controlled Substances*:
Over-the-Counter Medications Narcotic Medications
Medicated Ointments Illegal Drugs
Medicated Shampoos Bio-Hazardous Materials
Liquids Containing Medications Sharps / Needles (see bottom of page) (except Romeoville PD)
Prescription Inhalers Radioactive Materials
Over-the-Counter Inhalers Other Household Wastes
Glass Thermometers (contain mercury)  
Medical devices containing mercury  
(blood pressure units, barometers, etc.)  
  
*The Federal Drug Enforcement Agency defines DEA Controlled Substances under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. They are medications categorized by "schedules" based on their potential for abuse or addition. The schedules cover opiates, hallucinogens and prescriptions containing narcotics or amphetamines.

 
What to do with medications that are not accepted?

Will County, in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, will host special collection events that include DEA controlled substances from time-to-time. Some law enforcement agencies accept DEA controlled substances. Please contact your local police department to learn if they offer this valuable home safety service.
 

Protect Personal Information when disposing prescriptions

The label of a prescription bottle shows personal data, such as your name, your doctor’s name, the type of medication, the number of refills allowed and the date of the current refill. In the wrong hands, this data could be harmful to you or a drug abuser. Therefore it is always important for you to black out your personal data on the label with a permanent black marker before disposing of the product in any manner.
 

Accidental Misuse

If you accidentally repeat a dosage, take an expired medication or otherwise misuse your medication, call the Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222.
 

Needles/Sharps are NOT accepted:

Needles, or sharps as they are also called, that are used in the home for self-injection (such as insulin shots) are currently permissible to discard with regular garbage using a rigid container (such as a milk jug, coffee container or laundry bottle) sealed with duct tape.
 
Residents may also use a bio-hazard container and pay for bio-hazard disposal service through several companies. Occasionally a doctor's office, hospital or other medical provider will offer disposal service to their clients.
 
Three communities include service to take sharps from residents for biohazard disposal: Joliet, Plainfield, Shorewood.
Call 800-449-7587 
 
A national sharp drop-off directory is being worked on: 
 

 

 

Sharps generated by hospitals, medical offices, traveling nursing services, etc. are required to be disposed as bio-waste through a commercial bio-hazard disposal service.

The Medication Take-Back Brochure may be printed on 8.5" X 14" sheet.

 

Pharmaceutical Drop-Off Locations:

Bolingbrook

Meijer Pharmacy
225 N Weber Road

Meijer Pharmacy
755 E Boughton Road

Walgreens
101 Lily Cache Lane

Braidwood

Braidwood Police Dept
141 W Main Street
815-858-2342 (call first)

CVS
230 S Comet Drive

Crest Hill

Crest Hill Police Dept
20690 City Center Boulevard
(near White Oak Library)
815-741-5111

Hours:
24/7 inside entrance

Elwood

Elwood Police Dept
401 Mississippi Avenue
815-423-5411

Hours:
Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm

Homer Glen

Meijer Pharmacy
14169 S Bell Road


 

Joliet

CVS
809 Plainfield Road

J.D. Brown Pharmacy
837 Plainfield Road (Rt 30)

Walgreens
1801 Ingalls   

Joliet

Will County Sheriff
16911 W Laraway Road
815-727-8575

Hours:
Drop-Box 24/7

Lemont

Lemont Police Dept
14600 127th Street 
630-257-2229 x2478

Hours: Drop-Box 24/7

Lockport

Lockport Police Dept
1212 Farrell Road
815-838-2132

Hours:
Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm

Mokena

Meijer Pharmacy
11305 Lincoln Highway

Walgreens
20002 Wolf Road

Mokena

Mokena Police Dept
10907 Front Street
708-479-3912

Hours: Drop-Box 24/7

Naperville

Walgreens
2719  Hassert Blvd

Walgreens
3035 Bood Road

Walgreens
63 W 87th Street

Naperville-Regional IEPA HHW Facility

180 Fort Hill Drive
"Please, No Direct Calls"

Hours: 
Saturday-Sunday 9am-2pm
(excluding holidays)

New Lenox

Walgreens
466 Nelson Road 

 

New Lenox

New Lenox Police Dept
208 Veterans Parkway
815-462-6100

Hours: Drop-Box 
Monday-Friday 8am-5pm
(excluding holidays)

Peotone

Peotone Police Department
208 E. Main Street
708-258-3279

Hours: Drop-Box 
Monday-Friday 9am-3pm
(excluding holidays)

Plainfield

Meijer Pharmacy
13521 S. Route 59
 

Plainfield

Plainfield Police Department
14300 Coil Plus Drive 
815-436-6544

Plainfield Residents Only
Hours: Drop-Box 
Monday-Friday 9am-3pm
(excluding holidays)

Romeoville

Meijer Pharmacy
347 N Independence Blvd

 

Romeoville

Romeoville Police Department
1050 W Romeo Road 
815-886-7219

Hours: Drop-Box 24/7
(Seperate Collection container for Sharps)

Shorewood Police Department

903 W. Jefferson Street 
815-725-1460

Hours: Drop-Box 24/7

 

Wilmington

CVS
1101 Water Street

Wilmington

Wilmington Police Department
129 Robert P Weidling Drive
815-476-2813

Wilmington Residents Only
Hours: Drop-Box
Monday-Friday 9am-3pm
(excluding holidays)

Click Here for a Map of these Sites

These locations are also listed on the Green Guide Database. 

Locations throughout Illinois are availabe on the IL EPA website

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

last updated: 1/31/2022

Several pharmacies ceased participating and are listed here for historical reference only:

  • Basinger's Pharmacy (multiple locations)   
  • Bolingbrook Pharmacy
  • Doc's Drugs (multiple locations)
  • Remco Medical (merged with J.D. Brown)

 

 
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58 E. Clinton Street, Joliet, IL 60432

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