North Hopewell Township Police Department Joins York County Solid Waste Authority’s Secure Medication Take-back Box Program
The York County Solid Waste Authority (Authority) has purchased a secure
medication take-back box for the North Hopewell Township Police Department bringing
the number of participating police departments in York County to 18. The public may
deposit unwanted medications anonymously in the take-back boxes during police
department hours, except on holidays.
This partnership program provides a secure disposal option for unwanted
medications from residential sources at no cost to the public or law enforcement. The
secure medication take-back box, purchased from MedReturn, works like a mailbox:
once medications are deposited, they cannot be retrieved and are contained in a locked
compartment accessible only by law enforcement. North Hopewell Police Chief Tim
Quinan notes: “In addition to being located in close proximity to police personnel, the
box is physically secured and under camera surveillance to further assure the security
and proper management of medications collected. We are pleased to participate in this
program and encourage our residents to take advantage of it to help prevent the misuse
or improper disposal of medications”.
The heavy-duty green metal box bolts to the floor and wall. Medication collected
in the take-back box program will be delivered by law enforcement to the Authority’s
waste-to-energy facility for environmentally safe destruction. Law enforcement also
maintains the box and secures medications that are received until they can be
destroyed.
The Authority has invited all York County police departments to participate and
has established medication take-back boxes in nearly all police departments across the
county. The Authority purchases a box for each interested police department and
provides free destruction of medications at the York County Resource Recovery Center,
the Authority’s waste-to-energy facility located in Manchester Township.
The Authority’s waste-to-energy facility is equipped with combustion technology and air emission controls making it York County’s best waste management tool for destruction of unwanted or expired prescription or over-the counter medication. The facility’s operator, Covanta York Renewable Energy, also supports this program.
Notes Dave Vollero, Authority Executive Director, “Using waste-to-energy
technology to manage medications keeps them out of landfills and waste water
treatment systems. We have long advised residents to make medications
unrecognizable and unpalatable and place them out with their regular garbage for
delivery to our facility. For those residents not comfortable with placing medication out
at the curb, the take-back box program will offer a convenient and secure option that
achieves the same results: safe management, complete destruction and the production
of alternative energy.”
Residents interested in dropping medication at a take-back box location should
remove their personal information from containers before depositing them in boxes.
ONLY RESIDENTIAL prescription or over-the-counter medications are accepted, along
with pet medications. Pharmacies, hospitals and other commercial sources of
medications are not eligible to participate. Syringes and other “sharps” are not
accepted in this program.
For more information about the program, visit the Authority’s web site at:
www.ycswa.com.
As the program expands to other locations, the Authority will
announce them to the public. Below are the participating police departments:
Carroll Township Police Department, 555 Chestnut Grove Road, Dillsburg, PA.
Open Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 4:30PM
City of York Police Department, 50 West King Street, York, PA. Open Monday
through Friday from 6AM to 10:30PM
Fairview Township Police Department, 599 Lewisberry Road, New Cumberland, PA.
Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
Hanover Borough Police Department, 44 Frederick Street, Hanover, PA. Open
Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
Hellam Township Police Department, 44 Walnut Springs Road, York, PA. Open
Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM. This box serves residents of Hellam
Township and Wrightsville Borough.
Lower Windsor Township Police Department, 2425 Craley Rd, Wrightsville, PA.
Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
Newberry Township Police Department, 1905 Old Trail Road, Etters, PA. Open
Monday through Friday from 8:30AM to 4:30PM
North Hopewell Township Police Department, 13081 High Point Road, Felton, PA.
Open Monday through Thursday from 7:30AM to 3:00PM
Northeastern Regional Police Department, 5570 Board Road, Mount Wolf, PA. Open
Monday through Friday from 7:30AM to 4PM
Northern York County Regional Police Department, 1445 East Canal Road, Dover,
PA. Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
Penn Township Police Department, 20 Wayne Avenue, Hanover, PA. Open Monday
through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
Southern Regional Police Department, 47 E. High Street, New Freedom, PA. Open
Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4PM
Southwestern Regional Police Department, 6115 Thoman Drive, Spring Grove, PA.
Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
Spring Garden Township Police Department, 340 Tri Hill Road in Spring Garden
Township. Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
Springettsbury Township Police Department, 1501 Mount Zion Road, York, PA.
Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM
West Manchester Township Police Department, 380 East Berlin Road, York, PA.
Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM
West York Borough Police Department, 1700 West Philadelphia Street, York, PA.
Open Monday through Friday, 9AM to 4:30PM
York Area Police Department, 33 Oak Street, York, PA. Open Monday through Friday
from 8AM to 5PM
The Authority facilitates responsible solid waste management through an
integrated system that emphasizes waste reduction, reuse, recycling and resource
recovery. The Authority is the owner of the York County Resource Recovery Center in
Manchester Township. The Resource Recovery Center manages York County’s
household and commercial waste, as well as some manufacturing waste.