[Pharmwaste] Summary of Responses: "drop-box disaster?"

[Ed Gottlieb]

Thanks for all the helpful replies!  
I will use this summary of your responses (7 so far) to convince the
worried police chief to participate in our drop-box program.
Ed

1.  
I was the primary author of a report to the California
Legislature<http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Publications/General/2011008.pdf>
analyzing 253 pharmaceutical collection site/programs responding to our
survey primarily to determine effectiveness of the programs and
incidences of diversion.  In our survey
form<http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Actions/PublicNoticeDetail.aspx?id=217&aiid=217>,
we asked for comments including, "describe any lessons learned, describe
key relationships or processes that had a significant impact on program
costs, success, outcome, etc."  I continue to personally keep in touch
with the program managers of the now 301 collection sites we continue to
track<http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/HomeHazWaste/HealthCare/Collection/Detail.aspx?FacilityID=2798&ReturnUrl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.calrecycle.ca.gov%2fHomeHazWaste%2fHealthCare%2fCollection%2fList.aspx%3fMaterialTypeIDList%3d60%26CountyIDList%3d37%26FacilityName%3d>
as much as possible.  I've also been getting Google Alerts for anything
medication disposal-related for the past 1 ½ years.   We've certainly
had detractors who would like to point out problems with pharmaceutical
collection programs especially for our report to the Legislature.  With
all of this, combined with the pharmwaste listserv, you'd think we would
have heard of even one incident where drugs combined to create a bad
reaction but I haven't.  At best I've heard that some vitamin
supplements may smell bad when they get wet.  I think in the quantity
that any collection program collects, combined with regular pickups,
they're just not getting the kind of reactions that industrial-sized
collections might get.

I also work with battery disposal and in that case, large lithium
battery collections have been a problem (see
http://www.enewsbuilder.net/hellman/e_article001446156.cfm?x=b11,0,w)
so I've certainly heard of that and the U.S. DOT has transportation
regulations preventing lithium batteries from being transported without
being taped or covered in some way to prevent them from randomly lining
up end-to-end and starting a spark and explosion - it's a huge problem
and expense in California where we have banned home-generated battery
disposal and local governments collect them (and have to tape/cover each
battery).  I suspect we would have heard of regulations for
home-generated pharmaceutical collections by now if it were a problem. 
But of course if you do hear of any problems, I'd certainly like to know
too.

Mr. Burke Lucy
Integrated Waste Management Specialist
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)
1001 I Street, PO Box 4025
Sacramento, CA 95812
Burke.Lucy at CalRecycle.ca.gov<mailto:Burke.Lucy at CalRecycle.ca.gov>
916.341.6592

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2.
Our program is very successful.  We collect about 1 ton per year -
mostly in our main lobby.  We have custom made bins that I could share
details with you about.  In the beginning we did indeed have some people
dumping liquids in and creating a mess.  No toxic cloud, but it did
smell.  We made better signage and tell people to drop liquids and
creams in the containers, but to dump the pills out of their container
and recycle the container.  I would be happy to discuss this with you. 
My contact information is below.

Paul Kelley, CBET
Director, Biomedical Engineering and Green Initiative
Washington Hospital - 2000 Mowry Ave - Fremont, CA 94538
510-791-3493 - Paul_kelley at whhs.com 

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3.
We have a similar fear in our area.  Although, our department has taken
it one step further.  How are the boxes monitored?  Someone could
actually drop an explosive in the unmonitored box.  I hadn't thought
about this and thought the chances of that happening had to be a million
to one.  That was until some local youths decided to drop a bomb
attached to a half gallon of gasoline into a mailbox.  It blew the door
off the house across the street.  We are in the process of building a
new police station and I have proposed a drop box.  How are other
departments handling the monitoring of these boxes?  Thanks for the
input!

Best regards,

Chris Smythe
DPW Office Manager
Town of Duxbury
781-934-1100 ext 130
781-934-9278 fax

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4.
Our drop box is actually in the lobby of the police station with a
camera on it and in order to get into the Police station..you have to be
buzzed in
by dispatch.  Our DPW made the drop-box. It's opening is only about 4 -
5" in diameter (PVC) with a bend in it...so no one can reach in. It then
drops into a plastic container that has padding.

Our Police Chief is very supportive and is always willing to talk to
anyone about our program.

Sharon Hart <shart at southhadleyma.gov>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
5.
Many of our PD's offer plastic bags to keep the bin
cleaner...especially with liquids.  They also offer sharps containers to
reduce the hazards of needle sticks. Lastly they have signage clearly
posted about what is NOT accepted such as mercury thermometers.  Also,
folks are encouraged to leave their medication in the original bottle
and just remove their name if they re concerned with privacy...that
eliminates the medicine mixing issue.

"Leah Ann Lamb" <llamb at utah.gov>

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6.
The South Hadley, Massachusetts Health Department has had a permanent
drug drop-box at our police station for over a year now...and have not
had any problems.

We have appropriate signage (no mercury products, no hazardous waste
products, and sharps handled separately).

It's a great program!

Sharon Hart <shart at southhadleyma.gov>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
7.
Nobody is more worried about this than DOT...if you're satisfying them,
you should be good. Perhaps reassuring him that there's a whole agency
whose job it is to be concerned about unlikely explosions from random
chemical mixtures would help? (Unless he's not one to be swayed by
gov't..>?)

Sierra E. Fletcher
Director of Policy and Programs
Product Stewardship Institute, Inc.
29 Stanhope St., 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02116
617-236-4886 (phone)
sierra at productstewardship.us 
www.productstewardship.us 

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-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 9:33 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us 
Subject: [Pharmwaste] drop-box disaster?

The Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal (Tompkins County, NY) will
soon be placing permanent drug drop-boxes in 9 or 10 police stations
throughout the County.

One police chief has not signed up, do to what I think is an irrational
fear.  He imagines that various bottles of medications will break when
deposited in the box, chemically react, and release clouds of toxic
fumes.  I will soon meet with him and have a final chance to allay his
fears and get him on board.

Deposited items will fall into a plastic bin.  I'll provide a heavy
weight spill absorbent pad for the bottom of the bin.  I could offer to
provide plastic bags for users to place their items in before depositing
them and add that request to the text/graphics that will go on the box.

Can you address the likely hood of any dangerous chemical reaction
occurring in a drop box?

The worst things I can imagine are a spill of mercury and a small
explosion if some CLINITEST Reagent Tablets get wet ["Clinitest tablets
are highly sensitive to moisture from air or water. Moisture may cause a
chemical reaction and the glass bottle could explode."]

Thanks for any assistance!

Ed Gottlieb

Chair, Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal Industrial Pretreatment
Coordinator Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
525 3rd Street
Ithaca, NY  14850
(607) 273-8381
fax: (607) 273-8433
egottlieb at cityofithaca.org<mailto:egottlieb at cityofithaca.org>