Contact:

Helen Domske, NY Sea Grant, P: 716-645-3610, E: hmd4@cornell.edu

Buffalo, NY, April 4, 2013 - On April 27, 2013 — the 6th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day — drugstores, police departments and other locations nationwide will accept unwanted or unused prescription drugs.

In New York State, New York Sea Grant is encouraging people to participate in this opportunity to properly dispose of the unwanted and unused medicines, including veterinary drugs, to help keep pharmaceuticals out of the Great Lakes.

“We want people to stop flushing them down the toilet or the drain,” says New York Sea Grant Coastal Education Specialist Helen Domske, Buffalo, NY.

Domske is the author of the “Undo the Environmental Chemical Brew: Keep Unwanted Medications & Chemicals Out of the Great Lakes” fact sheet, co-published by the New York, Illinois-Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania Sea Grant programs, to help consumers learn how to properly keep pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs) out of surface waters and why it is critical to do so. The fact sheet is online at www.nyseagrant.org/unwantedmeds.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day collection site locations are found online at http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback.


More Info:

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, and Currents, its e-newsletter supplement, each distributed 3-4 times a year.