Coplay, Catasauqua and Whitehall Township are among the 12 police departments in Lehigh County which have now received "Med Return Boxes" that allow residents having expired and unused over-the-counter prescription medications to discard the pills or medicines. The permanent collection boxes are provided by the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.

The boxes, which usually cost $500, are similar to mail boxes. They have been delivered to the municipal police departments which applied for them through a grant program. It is offered through a partnership between the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Program and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency as part of Gov. Corbett's "Healthy Pa. Initiative."

The Med Return boxes were provided free to the eligible police departments.

District Attorney James B. Martin and members of his staff worked with police chiefs to identify departments that were located throughout the county so that there would numerous locations for county residents to dispose of unwanted medications.

The Med Boxes have been installed at the following local sites:

· Catasauqua Police Department, 118 Bridge St., Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The hours will be expanded after a new station is built.

· Coplay Police Department: inside Coplay Municipal Building, Fourth and Center streets, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m..-4:30 p.m., except for holidays.

· Whitehall Township Police Department: 3731 Lehigh St., Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., by appointment with Police Officer Paul Davis, 610-437-3042, extension 223, no holidays.

"County residents have responded enthusiastically to the twice-yearly drug collections that have been coordinated by my office, police departments, the Pennsylvania State Police, the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration and the Allentown Health Bureau," District Attorney James B. Martin said at a news conference at the Upper Macungie Police Department. "Because of the positive response to the National Take Back Day collections that have been held since 2010, I wanted to ensure that residents could take medications to drop-off locations on a more timely basis."

The public no longer has to wait six months or longer for the next collection, the DA related.

"This is an important initiative from a public safety and health standpoint because residents won't have accumulations of medications in their homes. These medications often include prescription drugs that are abused by teens and adults," Martin said. The district attorney noted the nature of the prescription drug abuse problem in Lehigh County has become more defined over the last several years.

During the Seventh National Take Back Day event Oct. 26, 2013, Lehigh County residents disposed of a record 2,014 pounds of drugs at 17 sites that included police departments, grocery stores, pharmacies and malls. The total collected during the seven Take Back Days since 2010 is 6,840 pounds or nearly 3 1/2 tons. After the collections, DEA personnel picked up the boxes of medications at all sites and taken them to an incinerator where they were burned.

Signs are posted on each box informing residents of the types of items that can be placed in the boxes and those that are not accepted. Items that are accepted are prescription and over-the-counter medications, samples, vitamins, prescription ointments, prescription patches and pet medications.

Items that are not accepted are syringes, needles, sharps or other sharp objects, medications from businesses and clinics, lotions or liquids, aerosol cans, inhalers, hydrogen peroxide and thermometers.

Detectives with the Drug Task Force will pick up the discarded medications. The collected medications will be incinerated in cooperation with the Berks County District Attorney's Office through the Berks County Solid Waste Management contract with an incinerator in York County, an authorized facility designated to perform the destruction of controlled substances.

The one-way collection boxes are bolted to the floor to prohibit removal without proper authorization. They weigh 220 pounds.

Residents can place medications in the boxes anonymously. There is no charge for the service and no requirement to provide personal information or identification when using the box.