Mount Pleasant police fight to keep toxins out of our water


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Photo Illustration by Baylen Brown | Staff Photographer A drop box for expired prescription drugs located in the Mount Pleasant Police Department makes it easy to safely dispose of expired prescriptions discouraging prescription abuse as well as helping to prevent dumping in the Chippewa River.

To prevent the spread of pollution in the Great Lakes, the Mount Pleasant Police Department is collecting discarded pharmaceutical drugs.

A recently published University of Wisconsin-Milwuakee study detailed the presence of pharmaceutical drugs polluting Lake Michigan, which is becoming increasingly polluted with chemicals from prescription drugs. Since Mount Pleasant police began offering the pill-disposal service in 2013, the department has been taking in 300-400 pounds per year of a combination of pharmaceuticals, dirty needles, and illegal narcotics.

Malcolm Fox, water superintendent for the city of Mount Pleasant, said the city's water is safe and free from medical contaminants, despite the growing problems.

“It’s because of our geography,” Fox said. “We’re lucky because we draw our water from an aquifer deep below the surface.”

Mount Pleasant’s water does not come into direct contact with runoff or improperly disposed of medication. Water for the city is drawn from approximately 40 feet below the surface and is stored in reservoirs and water towers to meet customer demands.

Once flushed down a drain, unwanted medications make their way through the septic system to municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Most facilities, including the Mount Pleasant Water Plant, are not equipped to remove pharmaceutical chemicals from the water. Likewise, medicines disposed of in landfills may dissolve and leech out into the water supply.

Jeff Browne, public information officer for the Mount Pleasant Police Department, treats threats to Michigan’s water seriously.

He took a stronger interest in the safe and proper disposal of prescription drugs early in his career after he responded to an incident in which a young girl in high school took some of her friend’s Seroquel and suffered heart problems.

More than 200 deaths in Northern Michigan have been linked to prescription drug abuse in the past year, with 56 percent of abusers obtaining the substances from a friend or family member’s medicine cabinet.

“It’s really become a national problem,” Browne said. “Nobody knows what to do with all their leftover prescription medications.”

The MPPD partnered with the Commission on Aging to coordinate biannual pick-ups of leftover and unwanted pharmaceuticals from the community. The pick-ups yielded an average of 40 pounds worth of pharmaceuticals per trip.

The totes of disposed pills are sorted for recyclables. The remaining hazardous waste is incinerated at a facility in Bay City along with other narcotics and substances seized by the Michigan State Police.

According to Priscilla Garver, a spokesperson for the Commission on Aging, citizens concerned with disposing of their unwanted medication are directed to MPPD.

In an effort to collect more expired or unused pharmaceuticals, the Mount Pleasant Department of Public Safety developed a program to encourage citizens to dispose of their own drugs. A drop box is in the main lobby of the MPPD building located at 804 E. High St. for prescription or illegal drugs to be disposed of safely.

“People used to sell it, flush it and trash it,” Browne said. “I’ve even heard of people digging a hole in their backyard to bury unwanted prescription drugs.”

Browne encourages the community to use the dropbox to safely dispose of what might otherwise become hazardous waste.

“The great thing about it is that it’s completely anonymous,” He said. “You don’t have to talk to anyone or answer any questions. You can just come in and dispose of the substances so they don’t end up in our landfills or water supply.”

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