Posted: | June 5, 2015 12:52 PM |
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From: | Representative John Maher |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Safe Pharmaceutical Destruction |
Flushing drugs or placing them in a landfill results in contamination of surface and drinking waters. Abuse of prescription drugs and subsequent drug poisonings is a leading cause of death in America, currently exceeding motor vehicle deaths. Pharmaceutical collection events are excellent ways to reduce these hazards. Operators of some waste-to-energy plants in Pennsylvania run programs which offers free and safe disposal. However, under Act 190 or 1996, pharmaceuticals collected by such safe disposal programs are defined as hazardous waste and therefore they cannot be sent for destruction at Pennsylvania WTE plants. This legislation will amend Act 190 to enable Pennsylvania's waste-to-energy facilities to provide this important step in the destruction of pharmaceuticals. |
Introduced as HB1737