[Pharmwaste] RE: Covanta Offers Free, Safe Destruction of Residents' Unwanted Drugs - PressRelease - 3/25/10

Mon Mar 29 14:34:53 EDT 2010

In Washington State, our retail pharmacy model is disposing of all
non-controlled medicines collected at 14 retail pharmacies at a
hazardous waste facility for about $1/pound.  This includes
transportation.  We are currently working to demonstrate that controlled
substances can be disposed at a hazardous waste facility for a
reasonable cost.  Now that the health care bill is passed, perhaps the
legislation to amend the Controlled Substances Act, introduced by
Congressman Jay Inslee (H.R. 1191
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1191) , will be
addressed and we will have more options for collection and disposal of
unwanted household medicines.  

We are working toward disposal of all medicines as hazardous waste for
several reasons.  First, if the RCRA chemical products lists were
updated to include the new medicines developed in the last 30 years,
about 15 percent of medicines would designate as HW.  Because the HW
drugs are mixed with the non-HW drugs, it is better to dispose of the
entire batch as hazardous waste. 

Hazardous waste disposal is a safer disposal method than a
waste-to-energy facility for several reasons.  

*	The temperature at a HW facility is higher and consistent
whereas the temperature at a waste-to-energy fluctuates; 
*	HW incinerators have better emission monitoring and controls to
capture air-borne pollutants and 
*	the ash is tested more frequently and disposed in a HW landfill
or other special landfill. 

Cheri

Cheri Grasso 

Pharmaceuticals Project 

Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County

130 Nickerson Street, Suite 100 | Seattle, WA  98109 | 206-263-3089

www.lhwmp.org

________________________________

From: Barry Fernandez [mailto:Barry at clean-fuels.net] 
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 11:18 AM
To: Sue Dayton; Pete Pasterz; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Cc: Bell, Derrick; Mike Ewall; Emily Foeller; wasteq1 at aol.com; Mike
Schade
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] RE: Covanta Offers Free,Safe Destruction of
Residents' Unwanted Drugs - PressRelease - 3/25/10

Sue,

To answer you question with a question:  What's the alternative?

Clean Fuels of Florida, Inc.
D. Barry Fernandez, President
2635 NE 4th Avenue
Pompano Beach, FL 33064
Tel: 954-791-9588
Fax: 954-791-9366
Cell: 305-216-4941
Toll Free: 800-725-8711
barry at clean-fuels.net <mailto:barry at clean-fuels.net> 
www.clean-fuels.net <http://www.clean-fuels.net/>  

________________________________

From: Sue Dayton [mailto:sdayton at swcp.com] 
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 1:00 PM
To: 'Pete Pasterz'; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Cc: 'Bell, Derrick'; 'Mike Ewall'; 'Emily Foeller'; wasteq1 at aol.com;
'Mike Schade'
Subject: [Pharmwaste] RE: Covanta Offers Free,Safe Destruction of
Residents' Unwanted Drugs - PressRelease - 3/25/10

Is this really "safe" destruction of pharms? Thoughts, anyone?

Sue Dayton

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League

North Carolina Healthy Communities Program

PO BOX 44

Saxapahaw, NC 27340

(336) 525-2003

sdayton 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-destruc
tion-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 PSI

The 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 Covanta

Covanta 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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