[Pharmwaste] PA collection event article

[Tenace, Laurie]

Jeff,

I agree, this is different from other collections we have seen. If there is someone from PA on the list serve, please share the results of this upcoming event. 

Laurie

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Hollar [mailto:jhollar at pwaste.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 9:11 AM
To: Tenace, Laurie; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] PA collection event article

Laurie,

Interesting article.

Charging the consumer for a participation in a pharmaceutical take-back
program?  Advanced registration required?  Will this model work?  I would be
curious to find out how many consumers show up and don't want to pay.  What
happens then?  

If this model does work, it may answer the question of "Who's going to pay
for this?".  Will the funds collected cover the cost of the event?  Has any
one else tried this fee for service approach?

Jeff Hollar
PharmWaste Technologies, Inc.
(P) 515-276-5302 Ext. 316
(W) www.pwaste.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Tenace, Laurie [mailto:Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us] 
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 9:46 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] PA collection event article

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_670536.html

Task force aims to keep unwanted medications from waterways

The Southwestern PA Household Hazardous Waste Task Force wants your unwanted
pharmaceuticals, an effort it hopes will spare rivers from contamination.

The May 15 collection will be the task force's first in Allegheny County.

It might be tempting to flush old prescription, over-the-counter and
veterinary medications down the toilet when they expire or no longer are
useful. But Michael Stepaniak, the task force's environmental program
coordinator, said doing so threatens fish and wildlife that depend on the
region's waterways, which are a source of drinking water for the Pittsburgh
area.

"We want to not only help protect the environment ... but also make people
aware that flushing things down a toilet doesn't mean the hazard has gone
away," he said. "It's just moved."

Dave Mazza, regional director of the Pennsylvania Resources Council, the
task force's administrator, said conventional wastewater treatment cannot
effectively eliminate pharmaceutical compounds from water.

"On a national level ... upwards of 200 million pounds of pharmaceutical
waste is being produced every year," Mazza said. "The need for collection
events (like this) is evident."

Over-the-counter medications will be transported to Cincinnati, where they
will be incinerated. Controlled substances will be burned in a police
incinerator.

State and federal environmental groups for years have studied how trace
amounts of household chemicals and prescription and illicit drugs flushed
from homes end up in fish and wildlife that depend on Pennsylvania's
waterways.

Pharmaceuticals in the water have been blamed for severe reproductive
problems in many types of fish. For example, the endangered razorback sucker
and male fathead minnow have been found with lower sperm counts and damaged
sperm, while some walleyes and male carp have taken on female traits.

"Flushing them down the toilet ... kills some bacteria in waterways and not
others," said Conrad Volz, director of the Center for Healthy Environments
and Communities at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. "It
changes the ecology of our rivers in ways we can't even predict."

Since 2003, the task force has conducted 39 collections in eight counties
and disposed of nearly 2 million pounds of household chemicals, Stepaniak
said.

Collection details

The Southwestern PA Household Hazardous Waste Task Force will collect
unwanted medications from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 15 in the Hampton Community
Center on McCully Road.

Cost will be $3 per person. Advance registration is required. For details or
to register, call 412-488-7452 or visit swpahhw.org. A professional
contractor, law enforcement officials and licensed pharmacists will be on
hand to ensure that medications are handled appropriately.



Laurie Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Waste Reduction Section
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Rd., MS 4555
Tallahassee FL 32399-2400
P: 850.245.8759
F: 850.245.8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us

Mercury: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm

Unwanted Medicine:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/medications/default.htm

Batteries: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/batteries/default.htm





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