[Pharmwaste] EPA Awards Grants to Address Proper Disposal of Unused Medications

DeBiasi,Deborah dldebiasi at deq.virginia.gov
Tue Apr 17 13:29:53 EDT 2007


Congratulations, Stevan!


News Brief 

If you need more information on this subject, call the listed Press
Officer. 

For Release:  (Washington, D.C. -- Tuesday, April 17, 2007) 

EPA Awards Grants to Address Proper Disposal of Unused Medications 

Contact: Enesta Jones, (202) 564-4355 / jones.enesta at epa.gov 

EPA has provided two non-profit organizations more than $300,000 in
grants to develop pilot programs on the proper disposal of unused
medications. Every year, many tons of unwanted pharmaceuticals and
personal care products enter the environment through consumer disposal
to sewage and trash. The University of Maine Center on Aging, Orono,
Maine, and Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS), St
Louis, Mo., will receive $150,000 and $150,570 respectively. 

The purpose of the grants are to develop alternative stewardship
approaches to disposal, including "mail back" or "take back" pilot
demonstrations. The pilot projects will also include an inventory of the
types and quantities of drugs returned. Inventory data could prove
useful to the medical community in changing its prescribing practices to
reduce the incidence of unused medications. 

The Maine pilot will start, implement and evaluate a mail-back plan to
remove unused over-the-counter and prescription medications. In
addition, the pilot will test the effectiveness of an educational
campaign about the hazards to life, health, and the environment
presented by improper storage and disposal of unused medications. 

ARCHS, a St. Louis based community partnership, plans to create an
efficient regional model that removes and disposes of unwanted
medications, and informs citizens of related health and environmental
issues. The ARCHS's pilot geographical reach is planned to cover five
counties and two states that have a population of 2.7 million people and
the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The pilot proposes to have
community grocery stores, the Schnuck Markets, serve as the collection
sites for unwanted medications over an 18-month period. The St. Louis
College of Pharmacy will be involved in the collection and inventory of
the unwanted or unused medications. 

In both pilots, older adults will be actively involved in the design and
implementation of the pilots. These grants are part of EPA's larger
effort to protect the health of older adults, who may be more
susceptible to environmental hazards, through its Aging Initiative. The
Aging Initiative encourages civic engagement to recognize and reduce
environmental hazards in their communities. 

Grant winners: http://www.epa.gov/aging/grants/winners/ 

More information on the Aging Initiative: http://www.epa.gov/aging 


R088 



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Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email:   dldebiasi at deq.virginia.gov
WEB site address:  www.deq.virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Permit Programs
Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program
Mail:          P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA  23218 (NEW!)
Location:  629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA  23219
PH:         804-698-4028
FAX:      804-698-4032



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