Entry bubble Earth Day and Going Green

By: Colleen | April 22, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

Today is the 39th observance of Earth Day.earthd ay

We all know that "going green" is on everyone's agenda today. This includes the makers of plastic bags, who have announced by 2015, plastic bags will be made with 40% recycled content. Doing this is estimated to save 463 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and 300 million pounds of waste per year.

While this is a helpful step, some cities have gone as far as outlawing the bags altogether, and some retailers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have done away with them.

The earthday.gov website has a lot of great tips for living an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Doing simple things like turning off the water while brushing your teeth can make a big difference.

Do you bring your own reusable grocery bags to the store instead of using plastic? What other "green" tactics do you use daily?

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   earth_day   going_green   greenhouse_gas   plastic_bags   waste  

 

Entry bubble Proper Prescription Drug Disposal

By: Sommer | April 04, 2008 | Category: Health

A recent study announced that pharmaceuticals like sex hormones, mood stabilizers, and acetaminophen were found in the U.S. drinkingblue pills spilling out of a pill bottle water supply. YIKES! When I read the article, it didn’t really strike close to home, until…

A couple weeks ago when my nesting instinct took me on a trip to the top shelf of my linen closet to a basket full of expired medications and first aid supplies.

So, this was my dilemma; do I contribute further to the problem by just cavalierly tossing the stuff in the trash like I had originally planned? Not if I can help it! But, what do I do? I’ve heard of some prescription drug take back programs but in my search I couldn’t find one in my local area. (I wish I lived in the Great Lakes Region – they’re collecting old pharmaceuticals to commemorate Earth Day – how cool!)

While there's lots of advice on taking meds, from what I could find, there's a lack of clear info about what to do if you no longer need the medicine and have to dispose of it. And, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a little confused by the guidance on proper disposal – I’ve read, “Crush Don’t Flush” from the SmaRxt Disposal campaign but the ONDCP says that flushing is appropriate in certain circumstances.

I don’t feel fully comfortable that the instructions I found will completely protect the environment, but I guess it’s better than doing nothing. Here’s how I’ll dispose of my pills:

  1. Remove them from their original containers
  2. Crush the pills and put them in a sealable container – probably a plastic zipper bag
  3. I’ll add coffee grounds to the bag (they recommend mixing the crushed pills with an “undesirable substance”)
  4. Then I’ll throw the bag in the trash.

I’ll also be sure to remove any identifying information from prescription drug containers before I recycle them (if they’re recyclable, of course).

Here are some other resources I found:

| View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: disposal   drug   environment   medication   medicine   prescription   sommer   waste