Published: October 14, 2008 01:41 am      

ENVIRONMENT: County Landfill offers new recycling programs

NEALE GULLEY

gulleyn@gnnewspaper.com

Where once trash was sent to rot by the ton, the Niagara County Landfill is now offering two of the most ambitious recycling programs ever run through local government.

While computer towers and monitors are being taken at the Lockport facility (and starting last week also at the North Tonawanda Department of Public Works on Saturdays in October), county officials aim to tackle another pressing issue. A scheduled prescription drug take-back event Oct. 25 at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston aims to take leftover pharmaceuticals out of the waste stream and keep them from tainting residents’ water.

The hospital will host the drop-off for unused pharmaceuticals from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The reason: Keeping drugs in the medicine cabinet or flushing them down the toilet has been identified as a national health concern because of where they end up. The destinations range from street-level profiteering and drug abuse to ecological contamination, chiefly in the water supply. The federal Environmental Protection Agency says the effects of pharmaceuticals on the water supply are “largely unrecognized.”

The drug take-back event is the first such program in the region, and one of only a handful held in New York state. Where mass drug disposal is concerned, preventing unused portions from ending up in the nation’s dumps or its water supply has raised front-page concerns recently, and uncovered a glaring lack of answers.

“The wastewater plants aren’t designed to treat for pharmaceuticals,” said James Devald, county director of Environmental Health.

Christopher Jadoch, pharmacy director at Mount St. Mary’s, said the result here has been possible contamination of the Great Lakes region, including fresh water intakes used by municipalities along the Niagara River. The EPA has scrambled to investigate the phenomenon but hasn’t concluded there is any immediate threat to public health.

For years, however, residents just flushed the unused medicines down the toilet, Devald said. He cited recent reports by The Associated Press uncovering the presence of trace amounts of various controlled substances in rivers, lakes and other bodies of water around the country.

To make matters worse, police say the abundance of leftover pharmaceuticals contributes to trends in the abuse of prescribed painkillers and other drugs by teens and adults.

“(Sometimes) we’re talking about men and women with good jobs and good educations,” said Niagara County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy James Voutour.

Once it collects the drugs, Niagara County has opted to burn them using an incinerator at Covanta in Niagara Falls. The company burns solid waste at searing temperatures and had to obtain special approval from the DEC to handle the job.

Refuse Disposal District Director Richard Pope saw one of the first ever drug-burns in Rochester a couple of months ago and wasted no time bringing the program here. He said some Rochester residents redeemed prescriptions filled as long ago as 1951.

For Lewiston, it took the help of numerous county officials and private entities to set up the one-time drug take-back event.

A secondary purpose, Pope said, is to spur state legislation so people could discard their unused medications at permanent disposal facilities, possibly the pharmacies themselves.

“I like that it’s a community project as well, it’s not just public, especially with the hospital’s involvement,” said County Legislator John Ceretto, who also is chairman of the refuse district.

He and fellow legislative committee member Andrea McNulty said the plan doesn’t cost taxpayers a thing.

Niagara County is one of the few places in New York state — and the nation — to go beyond what’s legally required in the interest of what’s right for the environment.

“There’s definitely pride and ownership in being the first in the region,” Pope said.

A permit granted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation late last month calls for a licensed pharmacist and police to be present for the collection of controlled substances. Obtaining such permits can be difficult, because the substances involved are considered solid waste and hazardous materials. The primary role of the police is to ensure the drugs collected are kept secure.

“It would be an amnesty similar to a gun drop-off. Unless we get kilos of cocaine sailing through — then we might ask a question or two,” Voutour said. “Our main role is to provide security at the site.”

He said prescription drug abuse now accounts for a large percentage of all drug arrests, because pharmaceuticals are easy to obtain and are perceived as less a crime than street drugs. However, charges for a certain quantity of illicit pain pills are the same as those for possession of crack cocaine.

“It’s not just an event, there has to be legislation for the relief of unwanted pharmaceuticals,” Pope said. “The goal isn’t just to have a successful Oct. 25, the goal is to have a successful Oct. 25 and prompt state legislation.”

Contact reporter Neale Gulley at 693-1000, ext. 114.