Safe Pharmaceutical Collection Efforts Continue

The Monroe County Department of Environmental Services and Wegmans are teaming up to help community members safely dispose of excess prescription or over-the-counter drugs. The first collection will take place this Saturday, April 24th, from 8 am to 1 pm at the Wegmans Irondequoit at 525 Titus Ave.

Last year, this partnership resulted in over 1,000 residents safely disposing of almost 3,000 pounds of pharmaceutical waste. Appointments aren’t needed.

The remaining three collections this year will be:

• June 19th, Eastway Wegmans at 1955 Empire Blvd
• August 14th, Chili-Paul Wegmans at 3175 Paul Rd and
• October 2nd, Penfield Wegmans at 2157 Penfield Rd

The county is holding a separate collection this Sunday, April 25th, from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Jewish Community Federation at 441 East Ave. Read the press release here for more information.

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Prescription Drug Abuse: A Problem That Isn’t Going Away

In the time I’ve spent looking at alcohol and substance abuse related news stories, prescription drug abuse has been particularly interesting to me. This growing trend is worrisome; even though numerous reports have been saying its a big issue for at least a year now, no one seems to be able to come up with a solution.

How do we teach kids that not all things found in a medicine cabinet are inherently safe? How do we help individuals that have an injury and get hooked on their pain killers recover? And how do we stop the growing group of people looking to exploit these other two groups?

The greater Virginia/Washington, D.C. area seems to have a fairly significant prescription drug abuse problem in many of  their communities. An article in The Washington Post outlines the steps being taken to combat this issue. Operation Cotton Candy is the investigation run through a collaboration of Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents, as well as various other agencies.

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Reminder – Pharmaceutical Collection

I wrote about the GLOW program’s hazardous waste & pharmaceutical collection a few weeks ago and wanted to remind you all that you can now call to make appointments. The collection will be held in Batavia on Saturday May 15th from 9-2, and is open to residents of Genesee, Livingston and Wayne counties. Call (585) 344-2580 or 1-800-836-1154 (for long distance) to make an appointment today!

List of acceptable materials: vehicle fluids (except motor oil), lead acid batteries, household cleaning products, pesticides & insecticides, polishes & waxes, resins & adhesives, oil based paint/stain (no latex), fluorescent light bulbs/tubes, pool chemicals, driveway sealer, 1 lb or 20 lb propane tanks, home computers, microwaves, TVs, and of course prescription medications (no needles!). Tires are also accepted but require a fee of $3 each.

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Genesee, Livingston & Wayne Counties Hazardous Waste Collection

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Household Hazardous Waste collection program in Monroe county and said I’d look in to similar efforts in our area. Today I spoke to Peggy Grayson, coordinator of the GLOW program, who let me know that there will be a Hazardous Waste Collection day held on May 15th at the County Highway Department in Batavia. It will be open to all residents of Genesee, Livingston and Wayne Counties.

More information should be coming out at the end of next week, so I’ll update you on the specifics then. You have to register for an appointment, and she will begin taking appointments on March 15th. A list of acceptable materials is available here. For the first time, they will accept pharmaceuticals at this years collection. Other materials include a number of household chemicals, some car and computer parts, etc. A list of unacceptable materials is also available at the link above.

If you want to receive an email notification on March 15th to make your appointment, fill out this form. Please note that filling out this form does not mean you have an appointment–you will still have to call to schedule.

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