[Pharmwaste] Large collection boxes

[Ed Gottlieb]

Within the past year I called the U.S. Postal Service about getting some boxes.  I had seen photos of old mail boxes in use as pharm waste drop-boxes.  They told me there was a period of time during which they sold surplus boxes.  It is now their policy to not allow postal boxes to be repurposed.
 
Ed

>>> "Leah Ann Lamb" <llamb at utah.gov> 5/20/2012 12:47 PM >>>
All:  The largest and sturdiest medication take-back box installed in a Utah law enforcement agency was in a rural community that used a US Postal Service box that the Postmaster donated to the project. It looked indestructible and of course had been repainted. I have no idea what the Postal Service's protocol is for surplusing boxes but it may be worth looking into as I suspect there will be many available. LAL

>>> "Ed Gottlieb" <egottlieb at cityofithaca.org> 5/18/2012 11:33 AM >>>
Laura,
 
Please pass on my congratulations for having such a successful program!  
Now I'm worried that when we install our boxes this summer the frequency of emptying will be greater than anticipated.  We are going to buy the front access box by mailbox works (see link below) and have already purchased (not yet installed) a smaller, lower profile unit for police stations with limited space: http://charnstrom.com/itemdetail.php?sku=L517&recstart=25
 
I don't think the folks in Indiana will find a commercial unit as large as they want.  The other large units I have seen may be just slightly larger than the Courier.
Medreturn:  http://www.medreturn.com/drug-collection-unit.php
Mailboxworks:  http://www.mailboxworks.com/DV_Front.html
 
If your combined efforts fail to locate a huge box, my advice is that they ask a few local metal fabricators for quotes to custom make a box with the required features.  They could also ask some of the commercial box manufactures if they would like to submit a quote.   
 
This larger box size might necessitate the use of a slightly thicker sheet metal or the addition of angle iron on inside edges to maintain the same level of security.  it might be possible to purchase a three point locking mechanism to use on the access door or they could simply weld on a couple of hasps for pad locks.  Locating a plastic bin with the desired volume should be done first and the box then built around it.  If the box is built first the odds are you won't find a bin that fits nicely!  It is probably a good idea to have the access door opening be at least three inches higher than the bin insert.  That way if the bin is overfilled it would be possible to reach a hand in to empty enough material so that the bin can be removed.
 
Please let us know what the folks in Indiana end up doing.  
We should all have such problems and then be able to learn from others solutions!
 

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
>>> Laura Kammin <lkammin at illinois.edu> 5/18/2012 11:44 AM >>>
There is a community in Indiana with a very successful medicine collection program. They just contacted me to see where they can find a larger collection box. Their current one is 20'' W x 49'' H x 26'' D (a locked courier box purchased from Salsbury Industries) which they are emptying 2 to 3 times a week. They are looking for a box 50" x 50" x 40".  I haven't seen any this big. Does anyone have suggestions??
Thanks!

_________________________________________
Laura Kammin
Pollution Prevention Program Specialist

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
University of Illinois
1101 W. Peabody Dr., Urbana, IL 61801
217-333-1115
fax 217-333-8046
http://www.iisgcp.org/
http://www.unwantedmeds.org
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/
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