168 PARTICIPATE IN OPERATION MEDICINE CABINET COLLECTION EVENT IN TALLAHASSEE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 8, 2012

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us

168 PARTICIPATE IN OPERATION MEDICINE CABINET COLLECTION EVENT IN TALLAHASSEE

~Tallahassee event nets 275 pounds of expired, unused medication, three times as much as collected in 2011~

medicine

Organizers took in nearly 300 pounds of unused and expired medication, avoiding potential environmental harm from being flushed.


TALLAHASSEE The Florida Department of Environmental Protection partnered with the Southern Waste Information eXchange, Inc., Costco, the Leon County Sheriff's Office and others to collect 275 pounds of unused and expired medication, more than three times as much as what was collected during the 2011 event.
The free medicine collection event was held at the Costco store in Tallahassee in conjunction with the Florida Pharmacy Association, Florida Society of Health Systems Pharmacists and the Florida State University Center for Biomedical & Toxicological Research.
The Department hosts the annual event in Tallahassee and also participates in events throughout the state to collect and properly dispose of medications. Proper disposal of unwanted medications is important to public safety since wastewater treatment systems are not designed to remove many types of medications. Residents can contaminate groundwater supply and drinking water by flushing drugs down the toilet or pouring medications down the sink. All of the drugs collected from Saturday’s event will be destroyed properly by incineration.
"Hosting free events such as these allows residents to get rid of unused and expired medications without potentially causing harm to the environment by flushing them," said Jorge Caspary, Director of the Department's Division of Waste Management. "Residents can dispose of medications for free and protect the environment. It's a win for everyone."
During the 2011 event in Tallahassee, about 88 pounds of medications were collected during the four-hour event from more than 80 participants. This year, 275 pounds -- 128 pounds in pill form and 147 pounds in liquid form -- were collected from 168 participants.