Safe Medicine Round-Up Week - September 16 - 20, 2013

In celebration of National Pollution Prevention Week, September 16 to 20, the Russian River Watershed Association and the City of Petaluma 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 1,000 pounds of unwanted medications were collected! 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?

• 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?

• 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

Mon, Sept 16     Sonoma      Vintage House, 264 1st St E.

Tues, Sept 17   Guerneville  Lark’s Drugs, 16251 Main St

Tues, Sept 17   Windsor       Health First Pharmacy, 9070 Windsor Rd

Wed, Sept 18   Santa Rosa   Finley Ctr (Person Senior Wing)                                                        2060 W. College Ave.

Thurs, Sept 19  Healdsburg   Police Department, 238 Center St

Fri, Sept 20       Petaluma      Petaluma Senior Center, 211 Novak Dr

Fri, Sept 20       Ukiah            Ukiah City Hall, 300 Seminary Ave

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 and Daria Isupov, Staff Member of RRWA.