Great Neck Water Pollution Control District hosting ‘Shed the Meds’

The Island Now
Great Neck Water Pollution Control District Commissioner Patty Katz and Reach Out America President Rita Hall collect expired and unused medications at the District’s recent Shed the Meds in June. (Photo courtesy of the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District)
Great Neck Water Pollution Control District Commissioner Patty Katz and Reach Out America President Rita Hall collect expired and unused medications at the District’s recent Shed the Meds in June. (Photo courtesy of the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District)

The Great Neck Water Pollution Control District will hold its third Shed the Meds event on Sunday, Oct. 28 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

As part of the event, the District will open its free medication disposal drive-thru to all Town of North Hempstead residents so they can safely and properly dispose of unused or expired medications.

The event is intended to raise awareness of the dangers flushing medications down the toilet pose to the community’s water supply and environment. Residents are encouraged to drop off expired and unused medications to District headquarters at 236 East Shore Road via a drive-thru process that is quick and ensures that the pharmaceutical waste is disposed of safely.

“Flushing pharmaceuticals down the toilet, a far too common practice, is extremely harmful to the environment as water filtration facilities are unable to remove the chemical compounds from the water supply,” Great Neck Water Pollution Control District Commissioner Steve Reiter said. “Once again, we are happy to offer local taxpayers this additional service as an alternative to dispose pharmaceuticals in an environmentally-conscious manner—protecting the water supply while still removing these items from household medicine cabinets.”

Since this Shed the Meds’ inception, the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District has collected over 600 pounds of pharmaceutical waste. The community event is hosted in partnership with Reach Out America, the Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition, North Shore Action, the Nassau County Police Department, Northwell Health and the Boy Scouts.

“We look forward to another successful event of collecting pharmaceuticals and informing residents of the different ways they can play a proactive role in protecting the local water supply,” Great Neck Water Pollution Control District Commissioner Patty Katz said. “Together, through continuing to invest in environmentally-conscious infrastructure and developing measures for residents to help in the process, we can preserve and protect the local environment for future generations.”

The Shed the Meds event will be held on the same weekend as the annual Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs.

For additional information and updates about the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District, please visit the website at www.gnwpcd.net or call the office at 516-482-0238.

The district has provided sewage services for the Great Neck area since 1914, and currently serves more than 25,000 residents and businesses in the villages of Great Neck, Saddle Rock, Kensington, and those parts of Thomaston and Great Neck Plaza east of Middle Neck Road, as well as all unincorporated areas north of the Long Island Rail Road and a part of Manhasset.

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