Officials in Hoopeston are doing away with the drug drop-boxes they’ve had in their downtown area. It’s a safety measure, so officers collecting things like hypodermic syringes aren’t subjected to injury.
The police department and city hall are no longer going to have drug drop boxes available for expired prescriptions to be thrown away. The drug drop box was installed about four years ago through a program called Caremark -- to have the drug drop box available.

Today, people are dropping hypodermic needles in the boxes, putting those who recover the material at risk. A Hoopeston police officer is responsible for helping to dispose of the prescriptions. One officer was injured in the process of disposing of the drug-material in the drop-box. Police say the elimination of the disposal sites are to protect the risk of injury. The Vermilion County Health Department continues with its locations where people can dispose of prescriptions and needles.

94.1 WGFA