Randy Southerland

The Chicago Tribune is not the only well-known company in the Chicago metropolitan area to make waste management a priority. The Walgreen Co., Deerfield, Ill., makes sure that great care is given to dispose of special materials such as unsold drugs and chemicals from its one-hour photo processing operations.

“There are a lot of disposal regulations that we follow in connection with our photo lab and how the chemicals are disposed of,” says Michael Polzin, media relations director. He notes that Walgreen Co. stores must follow a host of regulations to make sure chemicals such as silver from film do not enter the local water supply.

“That can vary from community to community,” he says. “In terms of the pharmacy, if we have any outdated medicines or other medications that for some reason we can no longer dispense to patients, those are returned to our distribution center. Sometimes they are returned to the manufacturer or properly disposed of.”

Not only is Walgreen taking care of the community's medical needs, it also is helping to take care of the environment.