Art: Oliver Uberti, National Geographic Staff. Photo: Rebecca Hale, National Geographic Staff. Source: Alejandro Ramirez, Baylor University.

For Earth Week 2010, we’re focusing on some positive developments related to clean and healthy rivers.

Hip!  In August of 2009, Governor Quinn signed two bills into law that establish the first state-led requirements for the proper disposal of unused medicines. One law clarifies what it is to have “proper” disposal and outlines safe collection standards. The other law will take a major step toward incorporating good disposal practices into the healthcare industry. Under this law, home medical workers are required to dispose of unused medicines at collection points, rather than the former practice of flushing them down the toilets.

Hip!  High School students in Illinois are learning about water pollution and the proper disposal of medicines through a service-learning curriculum. “The new curriculum collection gives educators an instructional tool to create an innovative service-learning experience for their students, while tackling an important environmental and human health concern,”
said IISG Associate Director for Education _Robin Goettel_
<http://www.iiseagrant.org/staff/goettel.html>, who, along with _Terri
Hallesy_ <http://www.iiseagrant.org/staff/hallesy.html>, IISG education specialist, helped design this resource. “Through involvement in this project, students serve as agents for change, educating their communities about action steps they can take to reduce harm to aquatic
ecosystems from improper disposal of unwanted medicines.”

Hooray! Central Illinois-based Carle Clinic pharmacies opened up permanent medicine collection drop boxes at two of their pharmacies in Champaign and Urbana. We hope to see more!

Norms and laws about medicine disposal are changing. You can expect to see many more communities and businesses follow suit in the coming years. For more information, see our related web pages on this topic.

During the 2009 session of the Illinois General Assembly, PRN has strongly supported two bills introduced by Senator Susan Garrett, 29th District, to reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals entering our rivers and streams. Both of these bills have passed the Senate and House and now await Governor Quinn’s signature to become law.

Senate Bill 178 provides some guidance for facilities that collect unused/unwanted medicine so that their disposal is safe for people and the environment. The bill amends the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to require facilities accepting unused/unwanted medicines (including one-day collection events) to be clearly identified, accept items only from private individuals, and manage and secure collected pharmaceuticals in a manner preventing their release into the environment or possession by unauthorized individuals. {Continue Reading »}

Pharmaceutical Take Back Day

FoxFresh is a community group based in Aurora which is working to keep pharmaceuticals out of their local rivers and streams. On April 4 from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm they will be sponsoring a collection event for unwanted and unused medications. Bring your unwanted and expired prescription and over-the-counter medications to the Aurora Transportation Center, 233 N. Broadway, Aurora. Sharps and thermometers will not be accepted. If you are interested in volunteering contact Terri Voitik at terri@voitik.net.

Pharmaceuticals in our waters are dangerous for the fish and other wildlife living in our rivers and streams. Knowing this, Illinois residents want to take steps to properly dispose of their unwanted and unused medications; unfortunately, outside of the Chicago metro area, a limited number of residents have access to permanent pharmaceutical collection facilities. We need your help to change this. {Continue Reading »}

by Kim Erndt
Published in News-Gazette

Kudos to News-Gazette editors who chose to put the articles about disposing pharmaceuticals on the front pages of your September 15 and 16 editions. This is an issue we will all be hearing much more about in the next few years, and Prairie Rivers Network was pleased to see such a great educational piece for Central Illinois residents. {Continue Reading »}

Cecily Smith, PRN’s Policy and Outreach Specialist, talks with WCIA about how to protect our rivers and clean water from pharmaceuticals.

View news segment here: http://illinoishomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=26441