Category: Recycling

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New GLRPPR Sector Resource: Pharmaceutical & Personal Care Product (PPCP) Wastes & Impacts

GLRPPR is pleased to announce the availability of a new compendium of resources on Pharmaceutical & Personal Care Product (PPCP) Wastes & Impacts. This compendium focuses on the environmental impacts of pharmaceutical and personal care product residues in the environment, as well as on how to properly dispose of such products to avoid environmental contamination. As with any Sector Resource, expert contact information and lists of relevant events and funding opportunities are provided, as well as relevant Help Desk questions and answers. An RSS feed is available. This sector resource includes a link to the recently released Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant guide Disposal of Unwanted Medicines: A Resource for Action in Your Community, which also happens to be the GLRPPR Site of the Month for September 2007.

This new Sector Resource is a work in progress, so subscribe to the RSS feed or check the web site frequently for updates. If you have suggestions for resources to include, please email them to Joy Scrogum.

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Latest Edition of Symbiosis Addresses Pharmaceutical Pollution Prevention

The latest edition (Vol. 4, No. 2) of the Teleosis Institute‘s journal, Symbiosis, focuses on pharmaceutical pollution prevention. The Teleosis Institute is a non-profit organization based in Berkeley, California, devoted to developing effective, sustainable health care provided by professionals who serve as environmental stewards. Teleosis recently launched a Green Pharmacy Campaign, which is a collaboration with local pharmacies, health providers, and consumers, aimed at reducing the “footprint” of pharmaceutical medicine. The campaign includes a pilot program in Berkeley to take-back unused medicines at pharmacies and doctor’s offices.Symbiosis, Vol. 4, No. 2

The contents of this edition of Symbiosis include:

  • Letter from the Director
  • Health in the News: Pharmaceutical Pollution
  • Green Pharmacy: Preventing Pharmaceutical Pollution
  • Pharmaceutical Pollution: Ecology and Toxicology Considerations
  • Christian Daughton and the Ecology of PPCPs: An Integral Vision
  • Water Quality: Key to Many Doors in the 21st Century, by Christian Daughton, PhD
  • The 4 T’s: Assessing Exposure to Multiple Chemicals
  • Green Pharmacy: Preventing Pollution with Sustainable Medicine
  • Facts on Pharmaceuticals and the Environment
  • Ecological Economics and the Drug Life Cycle: The True Cost of Drugs
  • Pollution Prevention Partner: PharmEcology, LLC
  • Unused and Expired Medicines: A National Pandemic
  • Pollution Prevention Partner: Physicians for Social Responsibility
  • Spotlight on Green Pharmacy: Stockholm County Council
  • Website Review: Environmental Protection Agency: Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) as Environmental Pollutants
  • Book Review: Macroshift: Navigating the Transformation to a Sustainable World
  • Support Green Pharmacy!!

All articles are available online in PDF format at the link above.

Thanks to Evin Guy of the Teleosis Institute for sharing this information.

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WasteCap Wisconsin June 2007 Bulletin Available

Ok, so end-of-pipe recycling is not technically considered pollution prevention in the strictest sense of the term; it is often argued that only in-process recycling counts. But folks interested in P2 also tend to be interested in diverting waste from landfills, especially if that waste can be turned into an asset and put to further use, at the source or otherwise. Plus, many P2 professionals are becoming more and more interested in the concepts of product stewardship and extender producer responsibility, which include thinking about how to reuse and recycle materials once they’ve served their original purpose. Information on recycling and recycled-content products is also of interest in matters of environmentally preferable purchasing and green building. So, beneficial reuse is part of my personal sense of the intention of pollution prevention, and yes, I am going to talk about end-of-pipe recycling in this P2 blog. Gasp if you must, and direct all criticisms to me (Joy).

WasteCap Wisconsin LogoIf you’re interested in beneficial reuse in general, and specifically in construction and demolition debris recycling, electronics recycling, and organic material recycling (composting, food donation, scraps for animal feed, etc.), check out WasteCap Wisconsin’s web site. They offer case studies, publications, training opportunities, and other resources on these issues. They also produce a monthly e-mail bulletin chock full of case studies, resources, news, information on recycling technologies, legislation, events, and profiles of member organizations. The June 2007 issue is available online, and archived issues are available all the way back to 2005. Information on signing up for the bulletin is available on the WasteCap Wisconsin home page.

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NWF Documents on EPP, Mercury Thermostat Recycling, & Mercury Switches in Vehicles

Thanks to Michael Murray, Ph.D., National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Staff Scientist for the Great Lakes Natural Resource Center, for providing three new NWF documents for access on the GLRPPR web site:

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing in the Great Lakes Region: A Survey of State, Municipal and Institutional Programs assesses EPP programs in the eight Great Lakes states, eight municipalities and three universities, with an emphasis on policies addressing PBT chemicals. Researched and written by Cameron S. Lory and Amy E. Scott-Runnels of INFORM, Inc., and Michael W. Murray, Ph.D. of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Recycling Mercury Thermostats in Ohio outlines the problem of mercury in the environment, and provides information on mercury in thermostats and alternatives and recycling mercury containing thermostats in Ohio. It also includes a comparison of collection of mercury containing thermostats via the Thermostat Recycling Corporation voluntary program for both the U.S. as a whole and Ohio.

Putting the Brakes on Quicksilver: Removing Mercury From Vehicles in Ohio addresses the removal of mercury switches from automobiles in Ohio. This report was written by Michael W. Murray, Ph.D. with research assistance by Knoll Larkin and Liz Szaluta of the University of Michigan.