Household Chemical and Pharmaceutical Collection Program Newsletter: June 2011
Upcoming Collection Events
Household Chemials: June 18, Armstrong County
Hard To Recycle: Saturday, June 11th, 2011 - The Mall at Robinson
Updated information on all of our upcoming events and programs is always available at Zero Waste Pittsburgh - and don't forget to join us on Facebook!
Event Recap
Household Chemicals
As always, thanks to the many participants and volunteers who helped to make our first two household chemical collection events successful!
- 5/7 Allegheny County #1: 1,045 vehicles (1,236 total households) for a total of 104,055 lbs collected
- 5/21 Cambria County: 285 vehicles (330 total households) for a total of 23,350 lbs collected
Pharmaceuticals
Thanks to everyone who participated in the April 30 DEA Drug Take Back Day at the Mall at Robinson. 88 households participated, resulting in the collection of 210 lbs of pharmaceutical and OTC medications. Considering the weight of these kinds of materials, that's quite a bit; the overall cumulative impact of this kind of effort becomes even more apparent when you consider the following:
- Allegheny County was the number one county in PA, with a total collection weight of 2,149 lbs
- Western PA collected a total of 7,291 lbs.
- It is estimated that more than 10 tons of medication were collected across PA!
Future events and details will be posted on our Pharmaceutical Collection Event page.
Get Involved
As always, volunteers are an essential part of each and every collection event, and volunteering is a great way to make a positive impact on the environment of Southwestern PA.
In addition, volunteering at collection events is a way for you to help others do a little "spring cleaning" to ensure that these materials don't end up in our water supplies - not to mention that it will keep these potentially dangerous substances away from children and pets.
For more information on how to volunteer, please visit our Get Involved page or contact Michael Stepaniak at PRC for more information. We hope to see you there!
Program Update
For those of you who have been with us for a while, you may have noticed our identity change from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Household Hazardous Waste Task Force (SW PA HHW TF) to the PRC Household Chemical and Pharmaceutical Collection Program.
PRC, the administrators of the program, felt that the public could better served by grouping their household chemical and pharmaceutical collection programs, hard-to-recycle collection program, and educational programs under one umbrella - Zero Waste Pittsburgh (ZWP). Quite simply, ZWP is now your one-stop shop for waste reduction and recycling services in Western Pennsylvania! But we assure you, it's the same team of dedicated people working behind the scenes to help you properly and safely dispose of household chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Please visit www.zerowastepgh.org and let us know what you think!