The York County Solid Waste Authority (YCSWA) disposed of a total of 3.62 tons of unused and expired residential medication collected via the Authority’s Secure Medication Take-back Box Program, community drug take-back events and illegal drugs delivered by law enforcement for destruction.
Currently, 18 York County police department locations partner with the YCSWA to host medication take-back boxes in their police department lobbies. The Secure Medication Take-back Box Program provides a secure disposal option for unwanted medications from residential sources at no cost to the public or to law enforcement agencies. All York County police departments have been invited to participate. Illegal drugs captured by law enforcement are also destroyed at no cost.
The secure medication take-back boxes, purchased by YCSWA from MedReturn, work like a mailbox: once medications are deposited, they cannot be retrieved and are contained in a locked compartment accessible only by law enforcement. The heavy-duty green metal box bolts to the floor and wall. Medications collected in the take-back box program are delivered by law enforcement to the Authority’s waste-to-energy facility for safe and complete destruction. Law enforcement also maintains the box and secures medications that are received until they can be destroyed.
The Authority’s waste-to-energy facility is equipped with state-of-the-art combustion technology and air emission controls making it York County’s best waste management tool for destruction of medications and illegal drugs seized in law enforcement actions. The facility’s operator, Covanta York Renewable Energy, also supports this method that ensures complete destruction of medications and illegal drugs at the York County Resource Recovery Center.