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Ottawa County to hold one-day collection for old medicines
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Monday, August 18, 2008 (GST)
Ottawa County has finalized plans for a one-day collection this fall to safely dispose of unwanted controlled substances that could otherwise harm the environment.
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Ottawa County has finalized plans for a one-day collection this fall to safely dispose of unwanted controlled substances that could otherwise harm the environment.
The inaugural event will occur from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the county’s Resource Recovery Service Center, 16850 Comstock Ave. in Grand Haven.
Residents can bring substances such as old anti-depressants, diet pills and painkillers, said Adam London, director of the county health department’s environmental health division.
Law enforcement officials will be present since federal law prohibits the county from directly collecting controlled substances, London said.
Police will confiscate the items and take them to the Michigan State Police in Grand Rapids to be incinerated.
If the one-day event goes well, the health department could expand to other resource recovery service centers, including the one at 14053 Quincy St. in Holland Township.
“Our hope is to offer them on a rotating basis,” London said.
The health department is already beginning to collect other types of pharmaceuticals to dispose of at the centers, which are open about 20 hours a week. The challenge is to train staff to distinguish controlled substances from other medicines, officials have said.
The motivation for collecting unwanted medicines is the health concern they cause when they enter area waterways, Scott Schroeder, waste management supervisor for the county health department, said at a county committee meeting on June 4.
medicines in water can lead to reproductive and developmental problems in fish and other animals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
According to surveys, Schroeder said residents typically throw medicines away or flush them down the toilet. The latter is what causes the most problems.
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