ForImmediateRelease Contact:BillBradley

September22,2014 (916)2135230
bill@mecomm.com

DELTADIABLOANDCITYOFPITTSBURGPARTNERWITH
MEDICATIONDISPOSALPROJECTTOHELPPROTECT
PUBLICANDENVIRONMENTALHEALTH

DONTRUSHTOFLUSHMEDICATIONTAKEBACKPROGRAMEXPANDSTO
INCLUDE3NEWBINSITESINEASTCONTRACOSTACOUNTY

(Pittsburg,CA)Inanefforttobolsterenvironmentallysafemedicationdisposalpractices,East
ContraCostaCountyresidentswillsoonhaveaccessto3additionalpermanent,conveniently
locatedsitestodropofftheirunusedmedications.ThroughapartnershipwiththeCalifornia
ProductStewardshipCouncilsDontRushtoFlushcampaign,DeltaDiabloandtheCityof
Pittsburgarecommittedtoinstallingsecuredmedicationdisposalbinsinpharmacies,hospitals
andlawenforcementzagenciesthroughoutEastContraCostaCounty.Thefirststepistofind
partnerswillingtohostabinwiththegoalofengagingthepublicabouttheproperandsafeway
todisposeofunusedmedicationswhilechampioningforadditionalpermanentdisposalbin
locationsintheircommunities.

Ourmessageissimplemedicationsinthebin,weallwin,saidHeidiSanborn,Executive
DirectoroftheCaliforniaProductStewardshipCouncil.Ourgoalistogetunusedmedications
offthestreetandoutofunlockedmedicinecabinetsbyencouragingthepublictodropthemoffin
binsatapprovedlocations.Properdisposalensuresthatourpets,childrenandwaterwaysare
betterprotected.ThetimingisperfectasNationalPrescriptionTakeBackDaytakesplacethis
comingSaturday,September27from10amto2pm.ForDEAeventlocationsnearyouand
existingandfuturebinsites,visitwww.dontrushtoflush.org.

TheDontRushtoFlushprogramwassuccessfullylaunchedinSacramentoandYoloCounties
in2013throughapublic/privatepartnershipandthisyearisexpandingintoSantaClaraand
ContraCostacounties.Currently,theDeltaHouseholdHazardousWasteCollectionFacilityin
PittsburgandthepolicestationsinAntiochandPittsburghavecollectionswhichserve315,271
residentsofEastContraCostaCounty,whichequatestoonemedicationbinforevery105,090
residents.Providinganadditional3binsitesdropsthatnumbertoonebinforevery52,545
residents,amarkedimprovement.

DeltaDiabloBoardChairNancyParentencouragesexpansionwithlocalpartners.Weare
askinglocalhospitals,pharmaciesandlawenforcementagenciestohelpmigrateour
pharmaceuticaldropoffprogramandmakeitpossiblefortheircustomerstoconvenientlyand
safelybringunusedandexpiredmedicationstonewsiteswhicharelocatedwheretheylive,
workandshop.

Theneedforadditionalcollectionoptionsthroughoutthecountyhasneverbeenmoreapparent.
PresidentObamas2014NationalDrugControlStrategylistsfourmajorpillarsandinterventions
toreduceprescriptiondrugabuse,onebeingtoincreasetakebackdisposalprogramsbecause
70%ofpeoplemisusingprescriptiondrugsaregettingthemfromfriendsandrelatives.
Additionally,studiesshownearly40percentofprescriptionmedicationsendupunusedandthat
upto80percentofourstreamshavemeasureableconcentrationsofprescriptiondrugs.Each
year$225billioninmedicationsareprescribedandthatnumberisexpectedtogrowto$550
billionperyearby2017.Takebackbinsandeventsofferthesafestwaytodisposeofthese
medications.

TheprojectisbeingfundedthroughagrantfromtheRoseFoundation,andcontributionsfrom
theCityofPittsburgandDeltaDiablo.

Formoreinformationontheprogramandhowyoucanhelp,pleasevisitthewebsiteat
www.DontRushToFlush.org.

CaliforniaProductStewardshipCouncil(CPSC)educatesboththepublicandprivatesectorsabout
ProductStewardshipandcloselypartnerswithbusiness,jurisdictions,wasteandrecyclingcompanies,
manufacturersandotherstopromoteandencouragesustainablepracticesandtorecognizethose
companieswhoaretakingaleadershiproleinparticipatinginwastereduction.Formoreinformation,please
goto:www.CalPSC.org.

DeltaDiablo(District)isaCaliforniaspecialdistrictthatprovideswaterresourcerecoveryservicestothe
CityofAntioch,theCityofPittsburg,andtheunincorporatedcommunityofBayPoint.Thewaterresource
recoveryservicesconsistofsecondarytreatmentofwastewater,recycledwaterproductionanddistribution,
pollutionprevention,energyrecovery,beneficialreuseofbiosolids,streetsweeping,andhousehold
hazardouswastecollection.Servingnearly200,000residentsandencompassing54squaremiles,Delta
Diabloisanawardwinningagencywithamissiontoprotectpublichealthandtheenvironment.Formore
information,pleasevisitwww.deltadiablo.org.

Pittsburgisacityofapproximately66,000residentsineasternContraCostaCounty.Pittsburgslocation
alongtheSanJoaquinSacramentoRiverDeltacontributedtoitshistoryasacenterforcommercialfishing,
industryandwaterfrontrecreation.Cityservicesincludewatertreatment,stormwatercollectionaswellas
maintenanceofasewercollectionsystemthatfeedstotheDeltaDiablotreatmentfacility.TheCity
recentlypartneredwiththeDistrictforconstructionofarecycledwatertransmissionproject,whichhasbeen
successfulatreducingirrigationwateruseatparks,schoolplayfieldsandthemunicipalgolfcourse.For
moreinformationontheCityofPittsburg,gotowww.ci.pittsburg.ca.us.