View of Erie, Pennsylvania from Presque IslePhoto by Pat Noble, WikiProject Erie--- Pennsylvania Sea Grant Keep Unwanted Medicine out of Lake Erie Medicine Collection Day in Erie, Pennsylvania on April 26, 2008All medicine collection photos in this story are by Anna McCartney, Erie Times-News in Education--- 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. ------- Keep Unwanted Medicine out of Lake Erie Medicine Collection results:87 participantsCollected 120 gallons of materials5 of the 120 gallons were controlled substancesAbout 600 pounds worth of medicine and personal care productsControlled category II:1,031 pills130 milliliters of liquidsControlled category III, IV, V:1,397 pills1,180 milliliters of liquidsControlled Unidentified:1,410 pills102 milliliters of liquids4 pieces of gum6 towelettes---Controlled total: 3,839 pillsNon-Controlled total: 69,232 pillsPersonal Care products: 384------- 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 1970sAcross 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 UnixdoctorView of Lake Erie from Cranch Park in Erie, PAPhoto by Pat Noble, WikiProject ErieEPA Graphic--- 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--- 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, PAPhoto by Pat Noble, WikiProject Erie--- 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 substancesStudents and pharmacists from the LECOM School of Pharmacy counted and sorted drugs during the medicine collection--- 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--- 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--- 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.--- --- For more info contact:Sara GrisèPennsylvania Sea Grant814-217-9011Unwanted Medications301 Peninsula Drive, Suite 3Erie, PAMarti MartzCoastal Outreach SpecialistPennsylvania Sea Grant814-217-9015814-217-9021 (fax)---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 NetDepartment of Conservation and Natural ResourcesEnvironmental Coordination Services and Recycling (ECS&R)Erie County Environmental CoalitionErie Center on Health and AgingErie County Health DepartmentErie Housing AuthorityErie Port AuthorityErie Wastewater Treatment FacilityLocal PharmaciesGreater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC)Hamot Medical CenterLake Erie Sierra ClubLocal Senior centersPennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed AssociationPresque Isle AudubonState Board of PharmacyUSDEA local agentVisiting Nurses AssociationWJET-TV 24 Erie Green Campaign---Related websites:--- Pennsylvania Sea Grant:http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/seagindex.htmIn November 2006, Sara Grisè joined Pennsylvania Sea Grant as a Coastal Outreach Specialist:http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/about/grise.htm---EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago, Illinoishttp://www.epa.gov/region5--- ECS&R - Environmental Coordination Services & Recycling3237 US Highway 19Cochranton, PA16314814-425-7773814-425-3201 (fax) ECS&R 24 hour emergency response call:877-902-2452email:info@ecsr.nethttp://www.ecsr.net/http://www.ecsr.net/environmental.html--- WJET-TV 24 Erie Green Campaign:http://yourerie.com/http://yourerie.com/content/green--- WSEE TV Erie. PAhttp://www.wsee.tv/http://www.wsee.tv/news.phphttp://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=WSEE01--- City of Eriehttp://ci.erie.pa.us/City of Erie flag/seal are courtesy the English Wikipedia Graphics Lab & Cronholm144Erie Police Dept.http://ci.erie.pa.us/Departments/PoliceDepartment/tabid/72/Default.aspx---Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Forcehttp://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/leahttp://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/lea/leasuccess_storieshttp://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/lea/leacontact_ushttp://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/lea/leaschoolshttp://www.earthforce.org/--- LECOM School of Pharmacy in Erie, PAPhoto by Pat Noble, WikiProject ErieLECOM school of Pharmacyhttp://www.lecom.edu/school_pharmacy.phphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LECOM--- Erie Times-News newspaper building in Erie, PAPhoto by Pat Noble, WikiProject ErieErie Times-News in Educationhttp://www.goerie.com/http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ETNErie Times-News front page April 23, 2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Times-News--- Erie, PA photos by Pat NobleErie, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ErieErie photos courtesy Pat Noble aka Pnoble805, a member of WikiProject EriePhotos 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:Pnoble805http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pnoble805#My_work_on_WikiProject_ErieCity of Erie flag/seal are courtesy the English Wikipedia Graphics Lab & Cronholm144---Lake Erie Photos courtesy Jim's Photos Unixdoctorhttp://www.unixdoctor.com/gallery/niagara/Lake_Erie_02http://www.unixdoctor.com/gallery/albums.php---Lake Erie map graphic courtesy Lawrence W. Ellerbruch, Northern Michigan Universityhttp://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/classes/cs255f03/cs255students/ateraves/P6/tutorial2.html---Shallow Lake Erie photo courtesy Environment Canada:http://www.ec.gc.ca/---Lake Erie polluted photo courtesy Ohio EPAhttp://www.epa.state.oh.us/oleo/reports/leqi/leqi2004/pollutionsources/Pollutionsourcespic.jpghttp://www.epa.state.oh.us/--- EPA: Lake Erie Management Plan reports: http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/erie.htmlhttp://www.epa.gov/lakeerie/index.html---EPA - Zebra Mussels photo info:http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/image/viz_iss4.htmlZebra mussels washed up on beach, Lake ErieBay City Times (courtesy Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab)---White House Office of Drug Control Policy:http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/--- Interfaith Earth Healing Initiativehttp://www.earthhealinginitiative.org/Call:906-401-0109--- Cedar Tree Institutehttp://www.cedartreeinstitute.org/--- Earth 911:http://earth911.org/http://earth911.org/blog/2008--- Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community)Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:http://www.interfaithresources.com/Justice St. Rain1-800-326-1197 (toll free)1-847-733-3559 (wk)Interfaith ResourcesP.O. Box 9511 Diamond RdHeltonville, IN47436 Photos of the April 2008 pharmaceutical collection in Erie, PennsylvaniaPhotos by Anna McCartney, Erie Times-News in Education
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awards grants for Earth Day Electronic Waste (E-Waste) and Pharmaceutical Collections in eight states across the Great Lakes BasinLink to EPA Press Release on Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is a big successEarth Healing Initiative 2008An Interfaith environmental project for the Great Lakes basin in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). âCollect One Million Pounds of e-Waste and One Million Unwanted PillsâFor Earth Day 2008 residents and communities around the Great Lakes met the challenge to collect and recycle electronic waste and to properly dispose of unwanted medicines.ELECTRONIC WASTE (E-Waste)Above photo shows the second annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep in Michigan's Upper Peninsula during which about 10,000 residents turned in over 320 tons of electronic waste in only three hours on Earth Day 2006Electronic waste includes all those old or broken TVs, cell phones, computer components and similar gadgets that are part of our lives. E-waste contains possibly hazardous materials that can harm human health and the Great Lakes environment if disposed of improperly.In 2005 we discarded an estimated 2 million tons of TVs, computers and other electronic gear.Proper disposal and recycling are necessary to avoid unwanted pollution.When we reuse or recycle e-waste properly, we recover materials for re-use, save energy and reduce the environmental costs of raw material extraction and processing.PHARMACEUTICALS:Above photo shows some of the one ton of pharmaceuticals turned in by northern Michigan residents on Earth Day 2007 during the third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep.Traces of medicines have been found in streams and the Great Lakes where we get our drinking water and have also been detected near wastewater treatment outflows.Some of these medicines can lead to reproductive and developmental problems in fish and other animals.We often treat leftover medicine as a common household waste.More than half of people surveyed throw their unused medicines in the trash while a third flush them down the drain.In both cases, the medicines have the potential to be released into our rivers and lakes.The Earth Healing Initiative is sponsored by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI and is collaborating with the EPA, cities, landfills, groups, state/local governments across the Great Lakes Basin to promote the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge - and to help arrange interfaith and Native American volunteers and participants.All faith traditions, religions, minorities, tribes and other Indigenous peoples are encouraged to volunteer for and/or participate in the projects in your area.EPA Press Release on challenge being a bit hitEPA's Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was a big successCHICAGO, April 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Communities and residents of the Great Lakes basin have responded enthusiastically to EPA's Great Lakes Earth Day Challenge to collect 1 million pounds of electronics for recycling and 1 million pills for safe disposal to keep contaminants out of the Great Lakes."We are very pleased that so many people have stepped up to accept the Great Lakes Earth Day Challenge," said EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager and Region 5 Administrator Mary A. Gade. "Communities have reported collecting more medicines and electronics this Earth Week than at any previous collections."EPA has received preliminary results from just ten of those collections and can report that 2,184,000 pills have already been turned in for safe disposal -- more than double the challenge goal.EPA also expects to far exceed its goal for e-waste based on 216,000 pounds of electronics collected at six events.---Cities/Collection sites included locations in eight states:Illinois:Alton, Beecher, Bellwood, Bolingbrook, Carol Stream, Channahon, Chicago, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Glenview, Joliet, Lockport, Lombard, Mount Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Romeoville, Shorewood, Villa Park, West Chicago, Wheaton, WoodstockIndiana:Columbia City, Hammond, Knox, LaPorte, Fort Wayne, Rushville, ValparaisoMichigan:Bay City (two events), Benton Harbor, Bloomfield Hills, Dearborn Heights, East Lansing, Farmington Hills, Goodells, Grand Rapids (two events) Harbor Springs, Lansing, Midland, Monroe, Royal Oaks, Sault Ste. Marie, Southfield, Traverse CityMinnesota:Blaine, Brooklyn Park, Duluth, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Madison, Maple Grove, New Ulm, Saint Cloud, Shakopee, St. Louis Park, St. PaulNew York:Brockport, Buffalo, Fredonia, Rochester (two events), Syracuse (two events).Ohio:Cleveland, Grove City, Kent, Perrysburg, Sandusky, Springfield, Toledo, WarrenPennsylvania:Erie, LancasterWisconsin:Appleton, Brillion, Chilton, Crandon, Green Bay, Keshena (Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and College of Menominee Nation), Manitowoc, Milwaukee, New Holstein, Oshkosh, Plover (two events), Racine, Superior, Waupaca.
