[Pharmwaste] RE: Covanta Offers Free,Safe Destruction of Residents' Unwanted Drugs - PressRelease -

[Melody LaBella]

Incineration provides the most complete oxidation of
pharmaceutically-active compounds, thereby neutralizing the potential
for further environmental damage.  Landfilling is not a good solution
for pharmaceuticals, because these chemicals will end up in the
leachate, which most often goes to wastewater treatment plants, which
cannot remove them, so they will end up back in the waterways where we
were trying to avoid in the first place.  Recovering the energy from the
combustion of pharmaceuticals is a pleasant, sustainable bonus.
 
Melody LaBella
Environmental Engineer/
Pollution Prevention Program Coordinator
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
Martinez, CA

>>> "Sue Dayton" <sdayton at swcp.com> 3/26/2010 10:00 AM >>>

Is this really *safe* destruction of pharms? Thoughts, anyone? Sue
DaytonBlue Ridge Environmental Defense LeagueNorth Carolina Healthy
Communities ProgramPO BOX 44Saxapahaw, NC 27340(336)
525-2003sdayton at swcp.com   Our lives begin to end the day we become
silent about things that matter.   -  Martin Luther King Jr. 
  

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Pete
Pasterz
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 11:49 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Cc: Bell, Derrick; Emily Foeller; wasteq1 at aol.com
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Covanta Offers Free, Safe Destruction of
Residents' Unwanted Drugs - Press Release - 3/25/10
  Covanta Offers Free, Safe Destruction of Residents' Unwanted Drugs
Program Aims to Protect Nation's Waterways from Pharmaceutical
Contamination
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/covanta-offers-free-safe-destruction-of-residents-unwanted-drugs-89144047.html
FAIRFIELD, N.J., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- To reduce pharmaceutical
pollutants being discharged into the nation's waterways, Covanta Energy
is launching an important collaboration with municipalities.  As more
and more communities establish collection centers for unwanted
medications, Covanta will offer, for 2010, a free disposal and
destruction service designed to keep these products out of the nation's
waterways.  Covanta Energy, a world leader in the development, ownership
and operation of Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facilities and other renewable
energy projects, is rolling out a national program to process
pharmaceuticals collected by local governments in drug take-back
programs. These programs provide residents with a safe and proper way to
dispose of unwanted medications, including prescription drugs,
over-the-counter and veterinary medications and nutritional supplements.
When flushed down the drain, or disposed of in landfills, such products
contaminate surface waters and have an adverse effect on the
environment. "Studies have shown that pharmaceuticals are present in our
nation's streams and rivers. We want to help prevent the discharge of
these drugs into the waters that we drink, the waters where we fish and
the waters where we swim," said John G. Waffenschmidt, Vice President,
Environmental Science and Community Affairs. "Our facilities are
equipped with state-of-the-art combustion controls and air pollution
control equipment to ensure the destruction of these drugs in an
environmentally sound manner, one that protects the water we depend upon
day in and day out. Our facilities ensure that any pharmaceuticals
processed in them do not end up in surface waters."   Covanta is a
Sustaining Partner of the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), a
non-profit group which has been spearheading national efforts to define
steps for appropriately handling unwanted drugs. Covanta has worked with
PSI, various regulatory agencies, and with municipalities to reduce the
potential for contamination of waterways by discharged pharmaceuticals. 
"Drugs that are disposed of down sinks and toilets, or simply thrown in
the trash, can cause environmental harm," said Scott Cassel, Executive
Director of the Product Stewardship Institute. "Take-back programs can
lower the environmental and health risks associated with waste
pharmaceuticals. Covanta's offer will reduce the cost of take-back
programs in municipalities that choose this kind of destruction. Thermal
destruction at Energy-from-Waste facilities, hazardous waste
incinerators, or medical waste incinerators, provides for the ultimate
destruction of these unwanted drugs." Municipalities interested in
participating in the program must obtain appropriate regulatory
approvals in order to ensure that such wastes are not classified as
hazardous waste from a federal, state, or local perspective. Each
program would be subject to a due diligence review by Covanta Energy.
Municipalities interested in participating should contact Larry
DellaVecchia, Director, Covanta Secure Services at 973-882-7310.   About
PSIThe Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) is a national environmental
institute with membership from 45 states, over 125 local governments,
and more than 50 businesses, environmental groups, and organizations
that establish cooperative agreements to reduce the health and
environmental impacts from consumer products. PSI promotes producer
responsibility in the context of shared responsibility for the lifecycle
management of consumer products. For more information, visit
www.productstewardship.us. About CovantaCovanta Energy is an
internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale
Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the
Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  Covanta's 45 Energy-from-Waste
facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to
their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to
generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern
Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately
20 million tons of waste into more than 9 million megawatt hours of
clean, renewable electricity and create more than 10 billion pounds of
steam sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit
www.covantaholding.com.  
 
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