Hazardous Waste and Unwanted Medication Collection Event a Success

BENNINGTON, VT—June 4, 2019— Residents of Bennington and 13 surrounding towns cleaned up their homes and medicine cabinets on Saturday, May 18, 2019. For the first time, participants could dispose of unused or unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications at hazardous waste disposal day. A total of 45 pounds of medications were collected for safe disposal. Drug collection efforts like this one make homes safer and keeps the medications out of drinking water and off the streets.

“We are grateful for the tremendous collaboration and the extra effort our community members made to get their unused medications to this event,” said James Trimarchi, the director of planning at Southwestern Vermont Health Care, one of the event partners. “It was a great opportunity to share the news that drugs can be safely disposed any time right at the hospital.”

Several companies and community agencies—including the Bennington County Solid Waste Alliance, the Bennington Police Department, Casella Waste Systems, Hannaford Supermarket of Bennington, which contributed refreshments for volunteers, and Southwestern Vermont Health Care—worked together to collect unused or unwanted medications in addition to the other household hazardous waste at the free event.

Those who missed the event can dispose of medications anytime in the lobby of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, where there is a secure box for safe disposal is available 24 hours every day. No questions are asked. For more information about disposing medications, contact Ginger Ritchie at 802-447-5006 or Virginia.Ritchie@svhealthcare.org.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, health care system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.