Monroe County and Town of Sweden DPW Partner for Free Pharmaceutical Waste Collection

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks announced that the County is partnering with the Town of Sweden Department of Public Works to hold a free pharmaceutical waste collection on Saturday, September 12th, 2009. The collection will be held at Sweden Town Garage on 40 White Road in Brockport from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“These free pharmaceutical waste collections show how Monroe County and its partners are working to get potentially harmful medications off of the streets and out of our landfills,” said Brooks. “We are also providing residents a chance to safely discard of any unused and expired prescription and over-the-counter medications.”

In August, the Monroe County Department of Environmental Services (DES) partnered with Wegmans and Waste Management for two separate pharmaceutical collections which served nearly 600 residents and collected about 2,000 pounds of hazardous, non-hazardous and controlled substances.

No appointments are needed for the pharmaceutical waste collection at the Sweden DPW. Residents are asked to black out any personal information (not the medication name or dosage) on their prescription containers.

If residents are unable to attend the pharmaceutical waste collection on September 12th, Webster will hold an additional pharmaceutical waste collection on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at the Webster Wastewater Treatment Plant on 226 Phillips Road from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

All collections are free and open to the public. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and County Water Authority also participate in these collections. Waste from pharmacies, veterinary offices and pharmaceutical businesses is not accepted. Residents can call the Monroe County DES at 753-7600 (option #3) for more information.

Monroe County received a 2009 U.S. EPA Environmental Quality Award for its pharmaceutical waste collection program. The County has also assisted several other communities across the state with their collections by providing a guidebook about pharmaceutical collections.
For tips on proper disposal of pharmaceuticals, click on this link: http://www.monroecounty.gov/des-PharmaceuticalWasteDisposal.php