Pontiac Illinois is a couple hours south of Chicago. Kids there want you to think before flushing your old medicine.

Paul Ritter, a teacher & p2d2 founder says, "We do know that right now there are a lot of pharmaceuticals in our water supply. We know that it is impacting organisms."

Increasingly, medicines are getting past water treatment plants and into our drinking water. Government scientists have found pharmaceuticals in 80 percent of the waterways they test.

Ritter adds, "Right now, the only technology available to get rid of pharmaceuticals is either to reclaim them or use them up."

Reclaiming them is exactly what the Illinois high school students are doing. Their program has gained national recognition.

Ritter concludes, "It's neat to know that a group of kids in a high school in the middle of Pontiac, IL can have a global impact. It's a great feeling."

It's called the prescription drug disposal program, or p2d2. People drop off unused drugs at participating pharmacies. Then they're shipped to an incinerator where they're turned back into energy.

Eric Bohm, a teacher & p2d2 founder says, "I'm probably not going to be affected by what's in the water, however, my son who is now a year old, i'm thinking of him and the future generation."

What started as a school project has quickly spread throughout central Illinois.