Saturday, November 23rd - Get Rid of Your Unwwanted, Unused & Expired Medication

Responsible Medication Disposal Safeguards Lives and Protects the Environment.

Medicines play an important role in treating certain conditions and diseases, but they must be taken with care. Unused portions of these medicines must be disposed of properly to avoid harm to wildlife, pets, and people.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Pharmacists Association, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America have created the SMARXT DISPOSAL Smart Disposal Trademark campaign to educate consumers about how to dispose of medicines in a safe and environmentally protective manner.

Madison is the only location in Morris County to take part on November 23rd

Public Safety Complex

62 Kings Rd

Madison , New Jersey 07940

973-593-3000

10am - 2pm
See Map  

A few small steps can make an important difference in safeguarding lives and protecting the environment.

Follow your medication prescriber’s instructions and use all medications as instructed. If you do not use all of your prescribed or over-the-counter medication, you can take a few small steps to make a huge impact in safeguarding lives and protecting the environment by disposing of unused medicines properly:

1. DO NOT FLUSH unused medications and DO NOT POUR them down a sink or drain.

2. Be Proactive and Dispose of Unused Medication In Household Trash. When discarding unused medications, ensure you protect children and pets from potentially negative effects:

* Pour medication into a sealable plastic bag. If medication is a solid (pill, liquid capsule, etc.), add water to dissolve it.

* Add kitty litter, sawdust, coffee grounds (or any material that mixes with the medication and makes it less appealing for pets and children to eat) to the plastic bag.

* Seal the plastic bag and put it in the trash.

* Remove and destroy ALL identifying personal information (prescription label) from all medication containers before recycling them or throwing them away.

3. Check for Approved State and Local Collection Programs. Another option is to check for approved state and local collection alternatives such as community based household hazardous waste collection programs. In certain states, you may be able to take your unused medications to your community pharmacy or other location for disposal.

4. Consult your pharmacist with any questions. 

Further information can be found @ American Medicine Chest this is a national event.

Recycling in Morris County

HHW Disposal & Computer/TV Drop-Off Events

Open Morris County residents only and no appointment is necessary.  There is no cost for this service accept for certain materials listed below.

• Sunday, November 7, 2010
  Jefferson Township D.P.W.
  1033 Weldon Road
  Lake Hopatcong, NJ
  Click Here For Directions 

All disposal days are from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., rain or shine.

Note: Municipal, commercial and non-Morris county generators are not permitted to use these programs but must make an appointment to use the permanent facility (see below).
Acceptable Hazardous Wastes (all free of charge except where noted):  household cleaning products, pesticides, herbicides, oil-based paints, stains, paint thinners, solvents, antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, batteries, pool chemicals, darkroom chemicals, chemistry sets, asbestos (100 lb. max, and it must be wetted, double bagged and sealed with duct tape), BBQ-propane tanks ($5 per 20 lb. cylinder, no charge for small cylinders), fluorescent bulbs, ballasts, thermostats, mercury switches, most other identifiable HHW
The MCMUA’s disposal days will also feature a  Computer/TV drop-off for demanufacturing at the same location.  Cost starts at $3.00 per component.  Computers, monitors, printers, scanners, copiers and stereos (starting at $3 per item but it is based on size), electronic peripherals (i.e. mice, drives, keyboards, etc. free of charge), televisions (starting at $3/TV based on size).  Click here to see the generalized price list for electronics recycling.
Unacceptable Wastes: drums of any material (large quantities must be transferred to 5-gallon pails prior to delivery), latex paint, grout, spackle, joint compound, empty containers, unknown materials, tires, construction waste, medical waste, explosives, business or institutional waste, smoke detectors.

Permanent HHW Facility

Located at the MCMUA Transfer Station in Mount Olive, the HHW permanent facility is open on most Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings by appointment only.  Call (973) 829-8006 to check the schedule and to make an appointment.

After making an appointment, Morris County residents and municipalities* may utilize the facility for managing their hazardous waste free of charge.   Non-residential generators* and out-of-county residential generators may utilize the facility for $1.25 per pound.
Electronics Demanufacturing: The MCMUA accepts computers, monitors, TVs, printers, scanners and stereos for demanufacturing and recycling at its permanent HHW facility.  Individual items can also be dropped of for a recycling fee of $3.00 a piece. 
  
* Note: Municipalities and non-residential generators (commercial) must meet the conditions of conditionally exempt small quantity generators (CESQG) to utilize the the facility to dispose of hazardous waste.  Regulated generators are only permitted to use Recycling Consolidation Center in Dover to recycle universal wastes such as fluorescent bulbs and batteries.  Call (973) 631-5109 to check on your eligibility.
Directions: HHW Facility at the MCMUA’s Mt. Olive Transfer Station.  When you get there use the first entrance gate on your left and follow signs.

• From the East: Take Interstate Route 80 westbound to Route 206 southbound. This is Exit 27 (Somerville). Take Route 206 southbound for just under one (1) mile to Gold Mine Road. There is a masonry home center (Meier Stone) on your right side at the intersection of Route 206 and Gold Mine Road. Make a right on Gold Mine Road and take it west for about 1/2 mile. The Morris County Transfer Station will be on your left side. Do not go over to the scale!
• From the South: Take Route 206 northbound into Flanders (Mt. Olive). About 4.5 miles north of the McDonald’s on Route 206 in Flanders is Gold Mine Road. There is a masonry home center (Meier Stone) on your left side at the intersection of Route 206 and Gold Mine Road. Make a left onto Gold Mine Road and take it west for about 1/2 of a mile. The Morris County Transfer Station will be on your left side.  Do not go over to the scale!

Universal Waste Recycling at the Dover Recycling Consolidation Center

Making hazardous waste management easy and affordable for the regulated community.  The MCMUA manages these materials through the Recycling Consolidation Center in Dover.  You must call us at (973)-829-8006 to find out current pricing and to make arrangements prior to delivering materials.  Materials accepted include:

• Fluorescent Light Bulbs
• Rechargeable and Hazardous Dry-Cell Batteries – All batteries must be properly packaged (individually bagged or taped) to prevent terminals from shorting prior to delivery. Alkaline batteries are not accepted and are not hazardous and should be disposed of in the regular garbage.

Morris County Solid Waste Management

Visit www.MCMUA.com for information about other programs provided by the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority.  For specific program go to these sites:

• www.MCMUA.com/SolidWaste (Solid Waste Management Division)
• www.MCMUA.com/Recycling (Recycling in Morris County)
• www.MCMUA.com/Disposal (Disposal in Morris County)
• www.MCMUA.com/TransferStations (MCMUA Transfer Stations)
• www.MCMUA.com/HazardousWaste (Hazardous Waste Management)
• www.MCMUA.com/Composting (MCMUA Composting Facilities)
• www.MCMUA.com/Calendar.asp (Upcoming Events)
• www.MCMUA.com/Towns.asp (Morris County Municipal Programs)
• www.MCMUA.com/News.asp (Morris County Solid Waste News)
• www.MCMUA.com/Facilities.asp (Solid Waste and Recycling Facilities)
• www.MCMUA.com/History.asp (Past Events)
• www.MCMUA.com/Links.asp (Internet Links)
• www.MCMUA.com/Contacts.asp (MCMUA and Morris County Contacts)
• www.MCMUA.com/SWMP (Solid Waste Management Plan)
• www.MCMUA.com/Water (Water Division)
• www.MCMUA.com/directions.htm Directions to MCMUA Facilities

Caution

< Explosives or Highly Reactive Materials may be dangerous. If you have these types of materials, call first for safety instructions. DO NOT bring these materials without prior authorization! These dangerous items include, but are not limited to, picric acid, isopropyl ether, calcium carbide, perchloric acid and benzoyl peroxide.

War on Russian Seedbank Could Leave Food Future Out in the Cold

The Pavlovsk Experimental Station,  is a seedbank founded  in 1926.  Seeds are stored as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. It is a type of gene bank. The seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity. The reasons for storing seeds may be varied. In the case of food crops, many useful plants that were developed over centuries are now no longer used for commercial agricultural production and are becoming rare. Storing seeds also guards against catastrophic events like natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, or war.

The fate of the station is now in limbo as, after an intense lobbying campaign by botanists and conservation groups around the world, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has announced that the government is investigating the effort to uproot one of the most valuable botanical collections on Earth. The station seems destined to fall victim to a drive by the Russian government to free up public land for sale to developers.

The heat wave and subsequent fires that have destroyed much of Russia's wheat harvest this year may have helped increase the chances that Vavilov's storehouse of plants will live on at Pavlovsk. The fires triggered new fears in Russia about the nation's ability to feed itself and the impact of global warming, and raised the profile of scientists working to protect the country's food varieties. As the heat wave has faded, many Russians are now hoping that Pavlovsk can be saved.

The Pavlovsk Research Station, part of the N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry, houses one of the world's largest collections of seeds and planted crops, roughly 90 percent of which are found in no other scientific collections in the world. The station's inventory includes almost a thousand types of strawberries from more than 40 countries; a similar number of black currant varieties from 30 countries, including North America, Europe and the Far East; 600 apple types collected from 35 countries; and more than a hundred varieties each of gooseberries, cherries, plums, red currants, and raspberries. More than half of the black currant varieties grown in Russia, the world's leading producer, were bred at Pavlovsk. Sales of black currants in Russia are valued at more than $400 million annually.

Please visit our Petition page to sign up to help protect this invaluable resource.  Further information regarding this topic can be found at  guardian.co.uk