By Lorri Epstein, Water Quality Director
Did you know that prescription drugs and other pharmaceuticals pollute our rivers and harm our fish?
Ever wonder how to properly dispose of unused or expired medication (tip: don’t ever flush them down the toilet!)? With the proliferation of anonymous MedReturn drop boxes, it is easier than ever to dispose of unwanted medications. These drop boxes are now in communities all over, and this is great news for the river. The less medications that go down the drain, the less we’ll find in our river harming the fish and our environment.
Recent scientific studies express concern about pharmaceuticals and personal care products polluting our rivers. Chemicals like pain killers, mood stabilizers, and antibiotics typically pollute our waterways after our bodies eliminate them or we flush them down the toilet. Most sewage treatment plants can not remove them, so the unfiltered compounds pass right through to the river.
We can reduce contamination from these chemicals by stopping them from entering our water in the first place. Now, you no longer have to wait for a specific take-back day to clean out your medicine cabinet. Drop boxes are anonymous and take both prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as vitamins, nutritional supplements and pet medicines. No questions asked!
Search for a MedReturn unit near you: http://www.medreturn.com/medreturn-units/medreturn-locations/.
Here are just a few of the locations along the Columbia:
- Grand Coulee Police Dept., 306 Midway Ave., Grand Coulee, WA
- Boardman Police Dept., 200 City Center Circle, Boardman, OR
- The Dalles Police Dept. ,401 Court St., The Dalles, OR
- Hood River Sheriffs Office, 309 State St., Hood River, OR
- Portland Police Dept., 449 NE Emerson, Portland, OR
- Multnomah County Sheriff’s Dept., 2955 NE 172nd Place, Portland, OR
- St. Helens Police Dept., 150 S 13th St., St. Helens, OR
- City of Vernonia, 1001 Bridge St. Vernonia, OR
