Earth Healing, EPA Earth Day Challenge: Erie, PA residents protect Lake Erie by turning in medicines at Pennsylvania Sea Grant collection

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View of Erie, Pennsylvania from Presque Isle
Photo by Pat Noble, WikiProject Erie

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Pennsylvania Sea Grant Keep Unwanted Medicine out of Lake Erie Medicine Collection Day in Erie, Pennsylvania on April 26, 2008
All medicine collection photos in this story are by Anna McCartney, Erie Times-News in Education

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Erie, Pennsylvania residents turn in about 600 pounds worth of medicine and personal care products, over 73,000 pills at the April 2008 Sea Grant Pharmaceutical collection during EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge

(Erie, Pennsylvania) - Erie, Pennsylvania area residents dropped off about 600 pounds worth of medicine and personal care products on Saturday, April 26, 2008 during the Pennsylvania Sea Grant pharmaceutical collection.

Showing their love for Lake Erie, residents brought in over 73,000 pills and a large amount of controlled substances like narcotic pain medication, according to Sara Grisè, Pennsylvania Sea Grant coastal outreach specialist.

The collection was held at the Cruise Boat Terminal Building behind the Memorial Library named for Dr. Raymond Blasco in Erie, Pennsylvania.

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Keep Unwanted Medicine out of Lake Erie Medicine Collection results:

87 participants

Collected 120 gallons of materials

5 of the 120 gallons were controlled substances

About 600 pounds worth of medicine and personal care products

Controlled category II:

1,031 pills

130 milliliters of liquids

Controlled category III, IV, V:

1,397 pills

1,180 milliliters of liquids

Controlled Unidentified:

1,410 pills

102 milliliters of liquids

4 pieces of gum

6 towelettes
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Controlled total: 3,839 pills

Non-Controlled total: 69,232 pills

Personal Care products: 384
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The Keep Unwanted Medicine out of Lake Erie Medicine Collection Day was held as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.

The challenge involved over 100 pharmaceutical and electronic waste collections in hundreds of communities across eight states in the Great Lakes Basin.

Ohio EPA Map of polluted Lake Erie in 1970s

Across America, the reputation of Lake Erie - especially in the 1960s and 1970s - was that of an extremely polluted and even dead lake.

By all accounts, residents and officials have done a great job restoring Lake Erie - where fishing, boating and swimming are popular.

Lake Erie photo (above) courtesy Jim's Photos Unixdoctor

View of Lake Erie from Cranch Park in Erie, PA
Photo by Pat Noble, WikiProject Erie

EPA Graphic

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The EPA Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan has been a big force in the recovery of Lake Erie.

EPA/Bay City Times/Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab Photo

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In recent years, officials have been fighting the Zebra Muscle problem in Lake Erie. It's been a love/hate relationship as the muscles have done good and bad things to the lake.

One goal of the pharmaceutical collection was to prevent medicine s from being discharged into Lake Erie and to make sure the drugs don't end up in other surrounding lakes and streams.

Goal of medicine collection is to protect rivers, lakes and streams like Cascade Creek in Erie, PA
Photo by Pat Noble, WikiProject Erie

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Many wastewater treatment plants around the world are not designed to remove the cocktail of chemicals after the drugs are flushed or dumped down the drain - and the drugs can leach out of landfills into the groundwater.

Pictured above are Erie Police Dept. officers. Law enforcement officers are required by federal law at collections of controlled substances

Students and pharmacists from the LECOM School of Pharmacy counted and sorted drugs during the medicine collection

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Some of the unsung heros at pharmaceuticals collections are the police and pharmacists - without whom the collections would not be possible.
At all locations, including Erie, Law enforcement and pharmacists were on hand to accept the pharmaceuticals.

Based on experience, organizers discovered the turnout was bigger when residents don't have to preregister.

Of the 87 residents participating in the collection, 61 did not preregister.

Sara Grisè, Pennsylvania Sea Grant coastal outreach specialist (pictured above on the right; and Marti Martz, also a Pennsylvania Sea Grant coastal outreach specialist, and many others worked hard to make the collection a success.

Over 70,000 pills were turned as Erie, PA area residents showed their love for Lake Erie by participating in the Keep Unwanted Medicine out of Lake Erie Medicine Collection Day

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And similar to the other collections, most Erie participants were older adults as 89 percent were over the age of 46.

Assisting in the proper disposal of the medicines was ECS & R - Environmental Coordination Services and Recycling in Cochranton, Pennsylvania.

Medicine Collection Sponsors:

The organizers of the Erie collection included Pennsylvania Sea Grant, the City of Erie, Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force, LECOM school of Pharmacy, and Erie Times-News in Education.

Organizers partnered with the WJET-TV Channel 24 Erie Green Campaign.

WSEE TV provided their news story for use in a video about the collection.

The Pennsylvania Sea Grant received a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Great Lakes map highlighting Lake Erie by Lawrence W. Ellerbruch, Northern Michigan University

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The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills. The EPA says those goals were exceeded by 400 to 500 percent.

The Earth Healing Initiative assisted some challenge organizers by offering interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches and temples to participate in the Earth Day related events in their area.

This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.

The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.
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For more info contact:

Sara Grisè
Pennsylvania Sea Grant
814-217-9011

Unwanted Medications
301 Peninsula Drive, Suite 3
Erie, PA

Marti Martz
Coastal Outreach Specialist
Pennsylvania Sea Grant
814-217-9015
814-217-9021 (fax)
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Erie collection organizers received assistance from EPA Region 3 (with assistance from Region 5), Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Organizers thank following organizations who were part of the team that make the collection program a success:

Community Health Net
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Environmental Coordination Services and Recycling (ECS&R)
Erie County Environmental Coalition
Erie Center on Health and Aging
Erie County Health Department
Erie Housing Authority
Erie Port Authority
Erie Wastewater Treatment Facility
Local Pharmacies
Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC)
Hamot Medical Center
Lake Erie Sierra Club
Local Senior centers
Pennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed Association
Presque Isle Audubon
State Board of Pharmacy
USDEA local agent
Visiting Nurses Association
WJET-TV 24 Erie Green Campaign
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Related websites:
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Pennsylvania Sea Grant:
http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/seagindex.htm

In November 2006, Sara Grisè joined Pennsylvania Sea Grant as a Coastal Outreach Specialist:
http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/about/grise.htm
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EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago, Illinois
http://www.epa.gov/region5
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ECS&R - Environmental Coordination Services & Recycling
3237 US Highway 19
Cochranton, PA
16314

814-425-7773
814-425-3201 (fax)

ECS&R 24 hour emergency response call:

877-902-2452

email:
info@ecsr.net

http://www.ecsr.net/
http://www.ecsr.net/environmental.html
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WJET-TV 24 Erie Green Campaign:
http://yourerie.com/
http://yourerie.com/content/green
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WSEE TV Erie. PA
http://www.wsee.tv/
http://www.wsee.tv/news.php
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=WSEE01
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City of Erie
http://ci.erie.pa.us/

City of Erie flag/seal are courtesy the English Wikipedia Graphics Lab & Cronholm144

Erie Police Dept.
http://ci.erie.pa.us/Departments/PoliceDepartment/tabid/72/Default.aspx
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Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force
http://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/lea
http://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/lea/leasuccess_stories

http://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/lea/leacontact_us
http://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/lea/leaschools
http://www.earthforce.org/
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LECOM School of Pharmacy in Erie, PA

Photo by Pat Noble, WikiProject Erie

LECOM school of Pharmacy
http://www.lecom.edu/school_pharmacy.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LECOM
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Erie Times-News newspaper building in Erie, PA

Photo by Pat Noble, WikiProject Erie

Erie Times-News in Education
http://www.goerie.com/
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ETN
Erie Times-News front page April 23, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Times-News
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Erie, PA photos by Pat Noble

Erie, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie

Erie photos courtesy Pat Noble aka Pnoble805, a member of WikiProject Erie
Photos include Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry monument, Liberty Park's Pepsi Amphitheater, Times-News building, skyline of Erie, Pennsylvania as seen from Presque Isle, Cranch Park, west branch of Cascade Creek under a small bridge at Frontier Park, and the LECOM medical school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pnoble805
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pnoble805#My_work_on_WikiProject_Erie

City of Erie flag/seal are courtesy the English Wikipedia Graphics Lab & Cronholm144
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Lake Erie Photos courtesy Jim's Photos Unixdoctor
http://www.unixdoctor.com/gallery/niagara/Lake_Erie_02
http://www.unixdoctor.com/gallery/albums.php
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Lake Erie map graphic courtesy Lawrence W. Ellerbruch, Northern Michigan University
http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/classes/cs255f03/cs255students/ateraves/P6/tutorial2.html
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Shallow Lake Erie photo courtesy Environment Canada:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/
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Lake Erie polluted photo courtesy Ohio EPA
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/oleo/reports/leqi/leqi2004/pollutionsources/Pollutionsourcespic.jpg
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/
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EPA: Lake Erie Management Plan reports:

http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/erie.html
http://www.epa.gov/lakeerie/index.html
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EPA - Zebra Mussels photo info:
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/image/viz_iss4.html
Zebra mussels washed up on beach, Lake Erie
Bay City Times (courtesy Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab)
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White House Office of Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
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Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org/

Call:
906-401-0109
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Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org/
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Earth 911:
http://earth911.org/
http://earth911.org/blog/2008
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Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community)
Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com/

Justice St. Rain
1-800-326-1197 (toll free)
1-847-733-3559 (wk)

Interfaith Resources
P.O. Box 9
511 Diamond Rd
Heltonville, IN
47436

Photos of the April 2008 pharmaceutical collection in Erie, Pennsylvania

Photos by Anna McCartney, Erie Times-News in Education

Earth Healing: EPA funds June 21 RSVP e-waste collection in Hancock, MI

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Western U.P. electronic waste collections set: June 21 in Houghton and Keweenaw counties; July 12 in Baraga County; dates for other areas TBA

The Western Upper Peninsula Electronics Recycling Program, a project of the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), provides households with an environmentally and economically sound solution to disposing of electronic waste.

Residents of Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties, who have generated electronic waste in their household, may bring their items to e-waste collection sites on the specified collection dates in their area.

The initiative received grants and/or other assistance from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The northern Michigan collection is connected to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge that involves over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.

More than a dozen previous collections since 2005 have garnered nearly 48 tons of e-waste from over 850 participants.
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2005: 8 collections, 26.5 tons
2006: 4 collections, 15 tons
2007: 1 collection, 6.25 tons
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Commonly called e-waste, electronics waste includes old and broken computers, cell phones, TVs and other items found in many homes.

The collection for Houghton and Keweenaw counties will be on June 21 from 9 am to noon at the health department offices in Hancock.

An e-waste collection will be held in Baraga County on July 12 from 10 a.m. to noon at a site to be announced.

Collection events for other Copper Country counties will be announced in the future.

The cost to drop off e-waste is 10 cents per pound.

The Western Upper Peninsula Electronics Recycling Program will accept a wide range of e-waste during collection events including cell phones, computer and related equipment like laptops, monitors, towers aka central processing units, printers, scanners, keyboards and computer mice

Other e-waste accepted includes stereo equipment, televisions, VCR and DVD players, copiers, cordless telephones, fax machines, fluorescent light bulbs that are 4 to 8 feet in length, microwave ovens and batteries including alkaline, nickel cadmium, lead acid, lithium, mercury.

Organizers said it estimated that between 1997 and 2007, nearly 500 million personal computers will became obsolete. That's almost 2 computers for every person living in the United States.

TV's and computer monitors contain an average of 4 pounds of lead, as well as other toxins.

According to Closing the Circle News, the manufacture of one computer consumes 529 pounds of fossil fuels, 49 pounds of chemicals, and 3,307 pounds of water.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency projects that nationwide nearly 250 million computers will become obsolete in the next five years.

For additional information contact the Western Upper Peninsula Electronics Recycling Program or RSVP at 906-482-7382.

The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills. The EPA says those goals were exceeded by 400 to 500 percent.

The Earth Healing Initiative assisted some challenge organizers by offering interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches and temples to participate in the Earth Day related events in their area.

This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.

The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.

Im Greg Peterson and youre watching Earth Healing TV
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Related websites:
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Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department:
http://www.wupdhd.org
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e-waste info:
http://www.wupdhd.org/rsvp/e-waste.html
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RSVP:
http://www.wupdhd.org/rsvp/index.html
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Contact info:
Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department and the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program
540 Depot Street
Hancock, MI
49930

Barbara Maronen
906-482-7382
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EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago, Illinois
http://www.epa.gov/region5
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Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org

906-401-0109
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Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
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Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com

Justice St. Rain
1-800-326-1197 (toll free)
1-847-733-3559 (wk)

Interfaith Resources
P.O. Box 9
511 Diamond Rd
Heltonville, IN
47436

EPA Great Lakes Challenge continues: Kalamazoo April 21 pharmaceutical collection for SW Michigan

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Free, special collection for old prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals for residents of southwest Michigan set for June 21, 2008 in Kalamazoo County

Residents of the Kalamazoo area and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceutical collection later this month.

Old and unwanted medicines and personal care products will be accepted on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Loy Norrix High School, 606 E. Kilgore (off Lovers Lane) in Kalamazoo.

The pharmaceutical collection is sponsored by Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provided a grant for the project.

The collection is connected to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge that involves over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.

Southwest Michigan residents can rid their home of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals plus personal care products.

For example - items that will be accepted include:

Prescription medication, such as antibiotics, birth control, and insulin (but no sharps or syringes)

Medication samples and over-the-counter medication, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, cold medicine

Personal care products, such as medicated ointments, lotions, and shampoos

Veterinary medications

Items that will not be accepted include:

Medical waste like sharps and syringes

Products containing mercury like thermometers
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The collection is free to all households in southwest Michigan.

Organizers say the collection is important to protect Lake Michigan and other lakes and streams - like Arcadia Creek.

The reason - an investigation by the Associated Press found a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers and hormones, in the drinking water of 41 million Americans.

Most medications pass untreated through wastewater treatment plants because those facilities are not designed to remove the chemicals.

That means the pharmaceuticals are discharged into local rivers or groundwater.

For more information call 269-373-5211

Or visit the EPA and Kalamazoo County websites at these addresses:
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs

Again - a free pharmaceutical collection for residents of the Kalamazoo area and southwest Michigan will be held on Saturday, June 21 from 9 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Loy Norrix High School at 606 E. Kilgore (off Lovers Lane) in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The pharmaceutical collection is sponsored by Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills. The EPA says those goals were exceeded many times over.

The Earth Healing Initiative assisted challenge organizers by offering interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches and temples to participate in the Earth Day related events in their area.

This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.

The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.

Im Greg Peterson and youre watching Earth healing TV
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Related Links & Information:
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Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs

Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Bureau
http://www.kalcounty.com/eh/index.htm

Kalamazoo County homepage:
http://www.kalcounty.com
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EPA - Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs)
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp
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EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago, Illinois
http://www.epa.gov/region5
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Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org

906-401-0109
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Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
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Kalamazoo - Southwest Michigan First
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/index.cfm
Maps:
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/pdf/Kalamazoo%20Region.pdf
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/pdf/Kalamazoo%20County1.pdf
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Kalamazoo Downtown Central City website:
http://www.central-city.net
http://www.central-city.net/festivalsite?mth=festivalsite&subc=festplanning
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Kalamazoo Wikimedia:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo%2C_Michigan
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Kalamazoo.jpg
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Kalamazoo River:
www.kalamazooriver.net
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Loy Norrix High School:
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/school/school.php?sectionid=24
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/school/schoolmap.php?sectiondetailid=279&sc_id=1210344809
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loy_Norrix
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Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com

Justice St. Rain
1-800-326-1197 (toll free)
1-847-733-3559 (wk)

Interfaith Resources
P.O. Box 9
511 Diamond Rd
Heltonville, IN
47436
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Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Bureau
3299 Gull Road
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49048
269-373-5210
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