RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF OCTOBER 17, 2019
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing the 2019 National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
Body
WHEREAS, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held the first National Prescription Drug Take Back Day event on September 25, 2010, at a time when the public had few opportunities to appropriately dispose of leftover opioid painkillers and other potentially dangerous drugs, with the belief that providing a safe and convenient way for the public to dispose of unwanted medications would help prevent unauthorized diversion and misuse of prescription drugs; and
WHEREAS, since the first National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, new information has emerged about the public-health risks of keeping unwanted and unused medications in the home, as well as the environmental hazards associated with pharmaceutical contamination of landfills and waterways; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office initiated its own drug take back program, installing dozens of drug collection boxes in courthouses, police stations, and other publicly accessible locations; and
WHEREAS, on October 26, 2016, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed Ordinance #16-1983 An Ordinance Governing the Safe Disposal of Pharmaceuticals, which provided for the expansion of disposal locations across Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board President, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have been at the forefront of efforts to reduce pharmaceutical pollution of waterways and landfills and to reduce the risk of addiction and drug overdose; and
WHEREAS, the Prescription Drug Take Back Program, conducted by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in partnership with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, has been responsible for collecting a total of approximately 50,000 pounds of unused and unwanted pharmaceuticals at more than 80 locations across Cook County and has an aspirational goal of making even more collection opportunities available; and
WHEREAS, the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is held twice yearly, to provide opportunities to the public for the safe and responsible disposal of unused and unwanted medications, and to promote public awareness of proper disposal techniques; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and Cook County will be promoting and participating in the 2019 DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, held on October 26, 2019; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby recognize October 26, 2019 as National Prescription Drug Take Back Day; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and that a copy of same, suitably engrossed, be presented to the Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart.
Dated: October 17, 2019