9:12 AM
Toxic Materials Recycling Day
Healthy Malden
Healthy Malden, the Board of Health, and the DPW team up to rid Malden of Toxic Materials
MALDEN—On Saturday, March 28th Healthy Malden, in conjunction with the Malden Department of Public Works and the Malden Board of Health, held a Quarterly Recycling Day to create a systematic collection of hazardous materials that threaten the well-being of our city. With this new partnership with the DPH and Board of Health, Healthy Malden’s Prevention Task Force hopes to clear out all the medicine cabinets in Malden of the old and unused prescription drugs to keep them from being misused by our youth.
“This was a great example of the services that the city offers to residents to ensure that these materials are disposed of properly,” said Kevin Duffy, Executive Director of Health Malden. “Without this type of systematic collection, who knows how these paints, oils, and other toxic materials could have ended up in our ecosystem.”
The Board of Health collected used hypodermic needles and mercury items, which include thermostats, mercury switches, elemental mercury, fluorescent light bulbs, and button batteries. All of these were accepted free of charge with old thermometers being exchanged for new digital ones. In addition, residents brought more than 160 CRT monitors/TVs and forty-five car and truck tires to the city yard on Commercial Street. These materials can now be disposed of properly. “Thanks to the DPW and Board of Health, we actually collected enough mercury to poison the Great lakes several times over,” added Duffy.
MALDEN—On Saturday, March 28th Healthy Malden, in conjunction with the Malden Department of Public Works and the Malden Board of Health, held a Quarterly Recycling Day to create a systematic collection of hazardous materials that threaten the well-being of our city. With this new partnership with the DPH and Board of Health, Healthy Malden’s Prevention Task Force hopes to clear out all the medicine cabinets in Malden of the old and unused prescription drugs to keep them from being misused by our youth.
“This was a great example of the services that the city offers to residents to ensure that these materials are disposed of properly,” said Kevin Duffy, Executive Director of Health Malden. “Without this type of systematic collection, who knows how these paints, oils, and other toxic materials could have ended up in our ecosystem.”
The Board of Health collected used hypodermic needles and mercury items, which include thermostats, mercury switches, elemental mercury, fluorescent light bulbs, and button batteries. All of these were accepted free of charge with old thermometers being exchanged for new digital ones. In addition, residents brought more than 160 CRT monitors/TVs and forty-five car and truck tires to the city yard on Commercial Street. These materials can now be disposed of properly. “Thanks to the DPW and Board of Health, we actually collected enough mercury to poison the Great lakes several times over,” added Duffy.