The Port Washington Water District will be once again hosting a Pharmaceutical Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the District’s headquarters, located at 38 Sandy Hollow Road.
The district established this event to provide residents on the Port Washington peninsula with an opportunity to safely dispose of their expired or unused prescription drugs. Residents are encouraged to bring their unused or expired prescriptions and other medications to this event as improper disposal can have a negative impact on the quality of the community’s water supply.
“Pharmaceutical Take Back Day is an important event that we are proud to host each fall, as it gives Port Washington residents the opportunity to safely dispose of unused medications and pharmaceuticals while preventing these potentially harmful substances from entering into our water supply,” said PWWD Commissioner Mindy Germain. “Protecting our only water source is crucial to our ability to provide high-quality water to our residents and this event is an excellent way to do so. We look forward to seeing our residents come by our headquarters and Do It For Port!”
Improperly disposing of pharmaceutical drugs and other controlled substances presents opportunities for foreign contaminants to seep into the water supply, raising the potential of groundwater contamination and expense on future treatment needs.
Several decades ago, it was common practice to flush unused or expired mediations down the drain. For homes with septic systems, this meant creating a concentration of flushed medication in the soil around the home. For homes connected to a sewer system, it meant that the treatment facility had to implement special treatment to remove, or attempt to remove, the potential toxins from the water before it could be discharged.
“We look forward to hosting Pharmaceutical Take Back Day every year not only because of its environmental benefits, but also because it helps the community get involved in the protection of our precious water supply,” said PWWD Chairman David Brackett. “We are always proud of our community and their dedication to our Peninsula’s environment, but it is fantastic to see them in-person and helping us along in our mission to provide them with the best water possible. We collected approximately 300 pounds of pharmaceuticals last year and we are excited to find out what’s in store for this year’s event.”
All residents of the Port Washington peninsula with expired or unused medications are encouraged to take advantage of the District’s Pharmaceutical Take Back Day. To help incentivize participation, the District has made the process extremely simple. Residents will simply pull into the District’s parking lot and toss their medications into a large collection bin. Once the event concludes, the discarded medications will be taken by the Port Washington Police and shipped to a certified disposal site.
“The process for taking advantage of Pharmaceutical Take Back Day is very simple,” said PWWD Commissioner Peter Meyer. “All our residents have to do is fill up a bag with unused medications and drop them off at the receptacles at our headquarters on October 22. This event has proven tremendously successful in past years, and we encourage our residents to take a few minutes out of their Saturday to help us in our mission to give back to our community.”
The District is partnering with several local organizations and municipalities in promoting its Pharmaceutical Take Back Day event, including the Port Washington Police Department, ReWild Long Island, the Village of Baxter Estates, the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, the Village of Flower Hill, Grassroots Environmental Education and Residents Forward.
Anyone who has questions about the event or how to dispose of prescription medications is encouraged to visit the Port Washington Water District website at: www.pwwd.org.
