The DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick’s office has another new tactic to combat the opioid crisis: opioid deactivation kits.
The pouches neutralize unused organic medications in pill, liquid, or patch form.
“All you really do with these pouches is you rip the top off, you open them up, you put warm water in there, you simply take the pills, you pour them in, you seal up the pouch, you agitate it, and these are then safe to be thrown in the garbage,” said Mendrick.
The Deterra pouches are made of environmentally sound materials that are biodegradable.
If you’d like to safely dispose of unused medication, the opioid deactivation kits can be picked up at the communications center of the sheriff’s office located at 501 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton.
The Deterra pouches provided by the sheriff’s office were purchased using only grant money.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.