Mallinckrodt collects unused medications in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS — Medical products manufacturer Covidien's pharmaceutical division is expanding an initiative to collect unused and unwanted medications.

Mallinckrodt said it would expand communities' access to drug take-back collection boxes and promote safe disposal practices, installing lock boxes in three police stations around St. Louis. The company said it purchased the boxes under a collaboration with the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators and also would provide a grant to help incinerate the medications that are collected.

"We're proud to work with the St. Louis Police Department and the Missouri Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal on these efforts," Mallinckrodt president Mark Trudeau said. "Mallinckrodt has been a proud member of the St. Louis community since 1867, and we are experts at managing the complex nature of controlled substances."