The North Wind

Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Julia Woehrer Pharmacists Brad and Nicole Harvala collected pills at St. Peter's Cathedral as part of the Earth Keepers Clean Sweep on Saturday, April 21

A police officer stood behind a man who was counting a handful of tiny blue pills on Saturday, April 21 at St. Peter's Cathedral on Baraga Street. Thousands of prescription pills exchanged hands but there was no illegal activity. Instead, it was part of an environmental initiative to clean up unused pharmaceuticals to keep them out of the Upper Peninsula waters.

The Earth Keepers, an interfaith environmental organization, in conjunction with the Superior Watershed Partnership and the Cedar Tree Foundation, collected over-the-counter medications, as well as personal care products, across the Upper Peninsula as part of its third annual Clean Sweep.

And as for the police presence: When controlled substances, such as prescriptions drugs, are involved, law enforcement has to make sure the substances don't slip into the wrong hands. An estimated one ton of medicines and personal care products were turned in around the U.P., and police said the thousands of pills had a street value of more than $500,000.

The Clean Sweep began in 2005 when the Earth Keepers collected hazardous waste from U.P. residents. The following year, the group gathered electronic waste to be disposed of properly. This year, the Earth Keeper's Clean Sweep encompassed nine denominations and religions, as well as the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. There were 140 parishes involved and 19 drop-off points around the U.P.

"We have collection sites from the east end to the west end (of the U.P.)," said Jennifer Simula, the leader of the NMU Earth Keepers Student Team. "It's really a bridge between the faith communities and environmental activists."

The Earth Keepers Student Team was founded in January 2006 as a way to get NMU students involved in the initiative, Simula said.

The Earth Keepers chose to collect pharmaceuticals this year because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that the medicines were seeping into America's water supply. For years, people had been instructed to flush old medicines down the toilet, but now trace amounts of the drugs are appearing in rivers and lakes. This has caused problems for amphibians, and may be linked to some health problems, said Kyra Fillmore, a Marquette resident and Earth Keepers communications facilitator.

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