The EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals from eight states.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills.
These goals were exceeded many times over.
A few examples:
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In Milwaukee, WI: 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned in.
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At the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin near Green Bay: Approx. 4 tons of e-waste was collected plus thousands of pounds of other trash cleaned from reservation Tribal members turned in ver 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills, more than 25 computers and dozens of related components like hard drives, printers, keyboards and speakers; televisions, radios, DVD players, 12 cell phones and over 100 small batteries.
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In Traverse City, MI: Over 28,750 pounds (over 12.5 tons) of computers and other e-waste was collected.
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The electronic waste is recycled, and the pharmaceuticals are incinerated in state-of-the-art EPA -license facilities.
So why is this important?
The old and broken electronics - like computers, cell phones and TVs - contain heavy metals that can leach into the groundwater if dumped into landfills.
The unused pharmaceuticals can end up in your drinking water if they are flushed or poured down the drain.
That's because most wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove chemicals from these pharmaceuticals including hormones, narcotics, seizure medication and many more - that end up back in your drinking water.
In an April 2008 press conference in Milwaukee, EPA and other officials explained why the Great Lakes Challenge and similar projects are important to protect the environment and your health.
Pharmaceutical chemicals are sent back out into the Great Lakes, rivers and other places were people recreate and are the intakes for drinking water.
Studies show that the chemicals are appearing in the nation's drinking water in small amounts - the long term effects are not known - however they have been linked to mutations in fish and other wildlife.
Also - these medicines can be stolen, diverted or accidently ingested by children - if they languish in your medicine cabinet.
Around the country many e-waste and pharmaceutical take back programs have been developed by governments and local businesses.
Please check with your local officials to find out details for your area.
Because every day should be Earth Day.
This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette MI
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said EHI founder Rev Jon Magnuson of Marquette Michigan
I'm Greg Peterson and you're watching Earth Healing TV
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Supers:
Bill Graffin
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Voice of:
Dr. Susan E. Boehme
EPA Coastal Sediment Specialist
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
EPA Milwaukee Medicine Collection Photos/Video by Dr. Susan Boehme
EPA Milwaukee e-waste video by John Perrecone
Bharat Mathur
EPA deputy regional administrator
EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago
Tom Barrett
Milwaukee Mayor
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EPA Region 5 Office Chicago, Illinois
http://www.epa.gov/region5
EPA Flow of the River blog final post:
http://flowoftheriver.epa.gov/greatlakeschallenge/2008/05/so-long-and-tha.html
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Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
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City of Milwaukee Dept of Public Works
Rick Meyers, Recycling Manager
414-286-2334
Milwaukee DPW
http://www.mpw.net
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Milwaukee Metro Sewerage District
Steve Jacquart
414-225-2138
MMSD
http://www.mmsd.com
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Traverse City, Michigan
Kim Duane Elliott
231-995-6075
Grand Traverse County Resource Recovery:
http://www.co.grand-traverse.mi.us/departments/resource_recovery.htm
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Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
1-847-733-3559
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It is amazing that this problem flies under the radar. Most states do not have medication take back programs. Yet, over 40 states report contamination of the aquifer by pharmaceuticals. Another little known fact is that expired, unused, medications can be used as an inexpensive source of fuel. Covanta Holdings runs over 30 plants that generate energy from incinerated medications. This is a golden oportunity to reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil.
Faustino Gonzalez, MD (galego4)
galego4 3 years ago