Earth Healing, EPA Great Lakes Challenge: Kalamazoo June 21 medicine collection for SW Michigan

Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceutical collection later this month.

Old and unwanted medicines and personal care products will be accepted on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo.

The event is sponsored by Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provided a grant for the project.

The collection is part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge involving over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.

Southwest Michigan residents can rid their home of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals plus personal care products.

Items that will be accepted include:

Prescription medication, such as antibiotics, birth control, and insulin

Medication samples and over-the-counter medication, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, cold medicine

Personal care products, such as medicated ointments, lotions, and shampoos

Veterinary medications

Items that will not be accepted include:

Medical waste like sharps and syringes and products containing mercury like thermometers.

The collection is free to southwest Michigan households.

Organizers say the collection is important to protect Lake Michigan and other lakes/streams like Arcadia Creek.

An investigation by the Associated Press found a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers and hormones, in the drinking water of 41 million Americans.

Most medications pass untreated through wastewater treatment plants because those facilities are not designed to remove the chemicals.

The pharmaceuticals are discharged into local rivers or groundwater.

For more info call 269-373-5211.

The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was collecting/recycling of one million pounds of e-waste plus the collection/proper disposal of a million pills. The goals were exceeded by 500 percent..

The Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) offered interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches/temples to participate in the Earth Day events in their area.

This video on EPA Challenge projects was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago with the non-profit Interfaith EHI 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.

I’m Greg Peterson Earth Healing TV
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Related Links
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Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs

Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Bureau
http://www.kalcounty.com/eh/index.htm

Kalamazoo County
http://www.kalcounty.com
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EPA Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp
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EPA Region 5 Office
http://www.epa.gov/region5

Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org

Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org

Southwest Michigan First
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/index.cfm

Kalamazoo Downtown Central City website
http://www.central-city.net

Wikimedia
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo%2C_Michigan

Kalamazoo River
www.kalamazooriver.net

Loy Norrix High School
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/school/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loy_Norrix

Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com

1-800-326-1197
1-847-733-3559