Lehigh County residents who have expired and unused over-the-counter and prescription medications will be able to discard those medications in permanent collection boxes now installed in 10 police departments in Lehigh County.

The boxes, similar to mail boxes, were delivered to the 10 Lehigh County police departments which applied for the boxes through a grant program made possible through the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

The Salisbury Police Department is among the departments to receive boxes.

The MedReturn boxes were provided for free to police departments who submitted successful grant applications.

District Attorney James B. Martin and members of his staff worked with area police chiefs to identify departments throughout the county so there would be numerous convenient locations for county residents to drop off medications.

"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," Martin said.

The box has been installed at the Salisbury Township Police Department, 3000 S. Pike Ave., Salisbury Township. The department is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. After-hours visits, if necessary, can be scheduled by calling 610-797-1447 during business hours. There may be some Saturday hours in the future.

During the seventh National Take Back Day event Oct. 26, 2013, Lehigh County residents disposed of a record amount of 2,014 pounds of drugs at 17 sites including police departments, grocery stores, pharmacies and malls. In Lehigh County, the total collected during seven Take Back Days since 2010 is 6,840 pounds.

Medication collected in the new drop boxes 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, which is an authorized facility designated to perform the destruction of controlled substances.

The one-way collection boxes are bolted to the floor to prohibit removal of the boxes and retrieval of medications from within the boxes.

Residents can place medications in the boxes anonymously. Signs are posted on each box informing residents of the types of items that can be placed in the boxes.

Accepted items include prescription and over-the- counter medications, samples, vitamins, prescription ointments, prescription patches and pet medications.

Items 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.