The Kane County Sheriff’s Office is one of many locations where citizens can drop off unwanted or unused prescription medicines. But lately, a lot of stuff is showing up in that box that shouldn’t be there.

“The program is designed to dispose of pills, yet we are seeing a lot of liquids and needles,” Kane County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Director Pat Gengler said. “The needles are expressly prohibited from disposal in our box — but every time we clear it out, there seems to be someone who has disposed of these in the there.”

Gengler said many of the needles are the single-dose variety, but the Sheriff’s Office regularly finds full syringes.

“This is especially troubling when our staff has to sort the meds prior to disposal,” Gengler said. “Just this week, we found several bags of sharps. In fact, we stopped a person from dropping an entire box of needles into the container.”

According to Kane County Recycles website, citizens should never place loose needles and syringes in trash or recycling containers. The one drop-off that will accept syringes in Kane County is the Kane County Coroner’s Office at the
Government Center, 719 S Batavia Ave. Geneva. The hours there are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A second problem is that drug-sales representatives appear to be using the Sheriff’s Office drop box to dispose of products they sell in the container. An example is shown in the feature photo of this article.

“The idea is for citizens who have leftover prescriptions to have someplace safe to dispose of these meds,” Gengler said. “The program was never designed for a sales representative from a drug company to use as a way of rotating his or her stock. If their company produces the meds, we are certain their company can dispose of them. They need to find alternative means of disposal of their product.”

A third issue has been with liquid medications.

“This is another item we cannot dispose of and creates a very messy situation when they open up in the box,” Gengler said.

Gengler said misuse of the prescription drug drop box hit a new low on Monday (Sept. 12, 2016), when officers found a bag of what appeared to be rotted food.

“Garbage goes in the garbage, not the drug drop box,” he said.

Gengler said he hoped the recent spate of bad behavior won’t jeopardize the drug drop-off service that the Sheriff’s Office has been able to provide Kane County citizens.

“Our program has been very successful over the years,” Gengler said. “However, more and more citizens are dropping off things that we cannot dispose of.”

Recycling Sharps, Syringes and Needles

SOURCE: Kane County Recycles website

PLEASE NEVER PLACE LOOSE NEEDLES AND SYRINGES IN THE TRASH OR RECYCLING!

Improper disposal of home-generated medical waste poses a potential health hazard to many, including family members, sanitation workers, people in the community, hotel housekeeping, staff and school personnel. Although rare, diseases as serious as Hepatitis B & C and AIDS can result from accidental needle sticks.

There is currently only one drop-off that will accept syringes in Kane County.

Geneva, Kane County Coroner’s Office, Government Center, 719 S Batavia Ave. Geneva, IL 60134. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

There are actually very few nationally, and the industry is working towards future opportunities in that area. You can also follow these instructions for safe disposal, or subscribe to one of the mail in programs below.

Please follow these instructions for Safe Disposal of Needles:

1. Use a puncture-proof sharps container which can be purchased at pharmacies. Alternatively hard plastic household containers, which should be unbreakable and puncture resistant, may be used. We recommend a laundry detergent bottle. No milk jugs or coffee cans.
2. Sharps should be placed in the sharps container immediately after use.
3. Put sharps in point-first.
4. Store sharps in closed container with the cap screwed on until disposal.
5. Containers more than half-full should be disposed of. Do not cram them full.
6. Clearly label container “SHARPS, DO NOT RECYCLE” with a bold marker.
7. When the container is half full, tape lid on securely with duct tape and place in trash.