North Hempstead, NY – With awareness being shed on the quality of Long Island’s aquifer drinking water and the plague of prescription drug abuse on Long Island, North Hempstead’s school pharmaceutical collection program was proud to conclude another successful year.
This fall, the Town of North Hempstead, in cooperation with the Nassau County Police department and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, was able to safely dispose of 1,400 pounds of unwanted and unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The process took approximately six weeks.
Carle Place led the way by collecting a whopping 360 pounds at their October 5 event at Carle Place Middle/High School. Other school district totals were Manhasset with 280 pounds; Herricks, 240 pounds; Port Washington, 200 pounds; Sewanhaka/New Hyde Park, 120 pounds; East Williston, 120 pounds; and Great Neck, 80 pounds.
“Our pharmaceutical collection program allows residents to properly dispose of unwanted and expired prescription drugs,” said Supervisor John Riordan. “Not only does this help to prevent drug abuse, but it allows us to reduce the amount of pharmaceutical contaminants that may seep into our ground water.”
In 2009, the Town of North Hempstead was the first municipality in Nassau County to host a pharmaceutical collection program. In the past five years, the success of the program has been astronomical, resulting in thousands of pounds of pharmaceuticals being properly disposed of each year.
For more information on the Town’s pharmaceutical collection program, please call 311.
Town Councilwoman Viviana Russell at the Oct. 5, 2013 Pharmaceutical drop-off program at Carle Place Middle/High School.