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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>These guidance documents are now available
from NERC - Laurie</span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color="#333399" face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#333399;font-weight:bold'>1.
Managing Unwanted Medications – 2 Guidance Documents Now Available</span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Based on two years of research and
eight pilot collections, NERC has published the most comprehensive guidance for
operating legal and safe unwanted medication collections that is
available. </span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Two guidance documents have been
published: one that is general and addresses any type of unwanted medication
collection, and the other is specific to collections held in conjunction with
household hazardous waste events.</span></font></p>
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14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><u><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Operating Unwanted
Medication Collections - A Legal & Safe Approach</span></font></u></b><b><font
size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:
bold'> </span></font></b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>[http://www.nerc.org/adobe/setting.up.draftFINAL.pdf], was
researched and written with funding from an EPA grant. </span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><u><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Holding an Unwanted
Medication Collection as Part of a Household Hazardous Waste Event - A Legal
& Safe Approach</span></font></u></b><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'> [</span></font><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial'>http://www.nerc.org/adobe/hhw.setting.upFINAL.pdf]
was researched and written with funding from a USDA-Rural Utilities Service
grant. </span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial'>These documents carefully lay out
the federal and state legal requirements for operating an unwanted medication
collection, as well as providing in-depth information about planning and
implementation such events. Data from the pilot collections is reported,
including costs, hours to plan and implement the collection events, and the
amount of material that was collected.</span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial'>For more information, contact <u>Lynn Rubinstein</u> [lynn@nerc.org].</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color="#333399" face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#333399;font-weight:bold'>2. Cleaning Out Bulk
Compounding Chemicals from Pharmacies - <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Guidance</span></i></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Pharmacies may have
stores of unwanted chemicals that were once used in the on-site preparation of
prescriptions. Known as “bulk compounding chemicals,” these
often include coal tar, phenol, and sulfur power. Most pharmacies rarely, if
ever, do on-site compounding of pharmaceuticals anymore.</span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Bulk compounding
chemicals are chemicals – not drugs. Once determined to be a waste
rather than an inventory item, many of these are Resource Conservation Recovery
Act (RCRA) hazardous wastes. Due to a lack of familiarity with how to
dispose of these chemicals, as well as the difficulty and expense of disposing
of small amounts of wastes (i.e., one or two gallons) on a one-time basis,
pharmacies may store unwanted bulk compounding chemicals in a cabinet for many
years, uncertain of what else to do. </span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Providing the opportunity
to appropriately remove and manage these materials is a valuable service that
household hazardous waste programs can offer to businesses in their community. </span></font><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The goal is to divert bulk compounding
chemicals from the municipal solid waste stream by establishing a cost
effective and convenient system for disposal as a hazardous waste. The strategy
is to create partnerships between existing household hazardous waste programs
that accept materials from conditionally exempt generators of hazardous waste.</span></font></p>
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14.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><i><u><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic'>Cleaning Out Bulk Compounding Chemicals from Pharmacies:
Developing Partnerships with Household Hazardous Waste Programs</span></font></u></i></b><i><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-style:italic'> </span></font></i><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>[http://www.nerc.org/adobe/collecting_bulk_compounding_chemicalsFINAL.pdf],
is a new guidance document that details how to develop successful partnerships
between household hazardous waste collection programs and pharmacies. The
guidance is the result of a pilot project that NERC conducted, with funding
from the EPA. The project identified pharmacies with unwanted bulk
compounding chemicals and demonstrated that their participation in local
household hazardous waste collections is a cost-effective and convenient method
of disposing of these materials responsibility. This document does not
address the disposal of unwanted medications. </span></font></p>
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12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>For more information, contact <u>Lynn Rubinstein</u> [lynn@nerc.org].</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Lynn Rubinstein</span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, Executive Director<br>
Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.<br>
139 Main St., Suite 401<br>
Brattleboro, VT 05301<br>
<a href="mailto:lynn@nerc.org">lynn@nerc.org</a> <a
href="http://www.nerc.org">www.nerc.org</a><br>
802-254-3636/802-254-5870 fax</span></font></p>
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