EPA's Earth Day Challenge: Collect 1 Million Pills and 1 Million Pounds of E-Waste to Help Protect the G...( TheCity of Chicago understands the seri...),Health

"The benefit of the Goose Island collection is two-fold. It gives Chicagoans a chance to do a little spring cleaning to get rid of unwanted medicines while helping to protect Lake Michigan, one of our greatest natural assets," said IEPA Director Scott. "Today, we're hoping people make a pledge to get out of the habit of flushing their unwanted medicines and in to the habit of doing the environmentally responsible thing by bringing their unused drugs to the collection."

The Great Lakes are an irreplaceable treasure. They are the largest source of fresh drinking water on earth and vital to commerce and recreation in the upper Midwest.

"Flushing unwanted medicines down toilets leads to potential contamination of the Great Lakes and drinking water supplies," said Mr. Welch, Water Quality Program manager for the Alliance. "Disposing of unused and expired medicines through collection programs is a responsible step everyone can take now to prevent water pollution at the source."

EPA and Earth911 have established a clearinghouse of collection events throughout the Great Lakes basin. It provides details about 23 collection events in the greater Chicago metropolitan area and northern Illinois. To find out about collection events, go to the Great Lakes Earth Day Challenge Web site http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/earthday2008.

Also, anyone can go to EPA's blog and share ideas: http://flowoftheriver.epa.gov/greatlakeschallenge