RRWA Environmental Column – August 2012 Safe Medicine Round-Up Week

In celebration of National Pollution Prevention Week, September 17 to 23, the Russian River Watershed Association (including Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Windsor and Ukiah) and the Sonoma County Water Agency are once again sponsoring the Safe Medicine Disposal Round-Up Week!

During Pollution Prevention Week, the public is urged to recommit to the ideal of preventing pollution in their day-to-day lives.  Unwanted medications should not be flushed down the toilet or discarded in the trash. When medications are improperly disposed of, they can end up in the landfills and water supply where they might harm wildlife and disrupt the environment.

Participating in the Safe Medicine Round-Up Week offers you an opportunity to help. By properly disposing of unwanted medications, you can keep the environment and waterways clean, and you’ll help reduce the risk of accidental poisoning, dosing errors, and reduce the potential for intentional abuse of medications.

During last year’s Safe Medicine Round-Up Week, over 1,100 pounds of unwanted medications were collected! Due to the overwhelming response to our past round-up collection days, this year only one site per day will be open, with the exception of Friday September 21st when there will be two drop-off sites open. This program is available to residential customers free of charge! Please, no business participants in these special events. On-going disposal options for businesses are available at the Hazardous Waste Drop-off sites.  In Sonoma County please call the Eco-Desk at (707) 565-3375 or visit www.recyclenow.org. In Mendocino County, please visit www.mendorecycle.org. Check the schedule below to see when the drop-off center in your community will be open.

How do I prepare for my visit to the drop-off site?

To help make your visit to the Safe Medicine Drop-off Site quick and easy, please have your medications ready for disposal by following the steps below:

•  Mark off personal information on the bottle  
•  Place unwanted medications in a plastic bag (Recycle your empty pill bottles at home)
• Keep liquids, ointments, lotions and creams in sealed containers
• Please DO NOT mix-in sharps or needles with your waste medications. Sharps are a safety hazard to the collection site staff. 

What Items will be accepted at the drop-off site?

The items listed below will be accepted for disposal at the drop-off site:

• Prescription  and over the counter pills and capsules
• Liquid medications, including ointments, lotions and creams (in sealed containers)
• Veterinary medications
• Vitamins, supplements, homeopathic remedies
• Medical patches
• Medical samples
• Inhalers (empty)

What Items will NOT be accepted at the drop-off site?

The items listed below will NOT be accepted at the drop-off site:

• Controlled substances
• Sharps, needles, epi-pens
• IV bags, bloody or infectious waste
• Personal care products like shampoo or mouthwash
• Aerosol cans
• Thermometers
• Illegal drugs
• Medical marijuana
• Medical equipment
• Medications and samples generated by a business

When can I bring my unwanted medications in for safe disposal?

Drop off your unwanted medications -free of charge-at any one of the locations listed below. Each location will be open between the hours of 10:00am – 2:00 pm

Monday - Sept 17th        Guerneville     Veterans Building, First & Church Streets

Tuesday - Sept 18th       Windsor       Alliance Medical Ctr, 8465 Old Redwood Hwy

Wednesday- Sept 19th     Sonoma       Vintage House, 264 1st St. East

Thursday - Sept 20th        Rohnert Park  Senior Center, 6800 Hunter Drive, #A

Friday - Sept 21th             Petaluma        Ellis Creek water Recycling Facility

Friday – Sept 21th            Ukiah             499 Leslie Street

Saturday - Sep 22nd         Healdsburg     Alliance Medical Ctr, 1381 University

What if I can’t make it to any of these drop-off days?

For more information and a list of locations accepting expired and unused medications free, year-round call (707) 543-3369 or visit our web site at www.safemedicinedisposal.org

This article was authored by Susan Keach, Environmental Compliance Inspector with the Sonoma County Water Agency, on behalf of RRWA. RRWA (www.rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, fisheries restoration, and watershed enhancement.