This included approximately 1,029 pounds of pharmaceuticals, 537 pounds of sharps, 14 pounds of mercury thermometers and 9,211 pounds of documents for shredding.

The event, which was held September 18, 19 and 20 in Eldridge, Bettendorf and Davenport respectively, served 941 households. Operation Medicine Cabinet officials collected prescription and nonprescription medications, which was overseen by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office. In addition, Waste Commission of Scott County gave out free digital thermometers in exchange for those containing mercury and collected and provided sharps containers for needles, lancets and syringes at no charge. Document Destruction and Recycling Services provided safe and secure document shredding.

This event was held to educate residents on safe disposal of these items, especially medications. Studies have shown that flushing medications poses risks to the groundwater supply and environment. Residents who were unable to drop medications, mercury or sharps off at the event can make an appointment at one of Waste Commission of Scott County’s Household Hazardous Material Facilities in Buffalo or Davenport. These facilities provide free services to both Scott and Rock Island County residents. Call 563-381-1300 for more
information.

This event was sponsored by: Riverboat Development Authority, Waste Commission of Scott County, Document Destruction and Recycling Services, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Scott County Health Department, Scott County Sheriff’s Office and Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging. Location sponsors included: Medic EMS, City of Bettendorf and Waste Commission of Scott County.

This marked the third annual Operation Medicine Cabinet. In September of 2007, over 11,000 pounds of material were collected from over 1,100 households. This included 1,182 pounds of pharmaceuticals, 660 pounds of sharps, 39 pounds of mercury thermometers and 9,836 pounds of documents.

Gander Mountain Adoptions

(DAVENPORT, IA) — Ten “Make it Yours” locations are now featured on an interactive map accessible through the iLivehere Online web site.  “Make it Yours” is the adoption program managed by the Waste Commission of Scott County (IA) and is part of the commission’s ongoing social responsibility program, iLivehere.

For more information on how to register and “make” a location yours, visit the iLivehere web site.

Photographs of the various locations that have already been adopted can be viewed by clicking any of the thumbnails below:

Gold Sponsors: Iowa American Water, THE National Bank, Iowa DNR/REAP, The Moline Foundation, Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, Radish magazine and Sears Manufacturing. 
 
Silver Sponsors: McCarthy Bush Corporation, Mel Foster Company,  Quad City Conservation Alliance, OYSTAR Packaging Technologies, Seneca Environmental Services, QC Analytical Services, Heart of America, Alter Metal Recycling and Independent Insurance Agents of Scott County.
 
Logistics Sponsors: Cities of Bettendorf, Colona, Davenport, East Moline, Milan, Moline, Rock Island, Silvis and LeClaire. Waste Commission of Scott County, Rock Island County Waste Management Agency, Allied Waste, Keep Rock Island Beautiful, Bier Stube, DavenportOne, Partners of Scott County Watersheds and Boy Scouts of the Illowa Council.
 
With Help From: Bee Line Company, Bi-State Regional Commission, Coca-Cola Bottling Co, Eastern Iowa Grain Inspection, Enchanted Inn, Midas Auto Systems Experts, Inc. and River Music Experience.

“It was easy,” explained the seventeen year-old Junior.  “All I had to do was visit iLivehereqc.org and register online.  They had everything I needed and my dad picked it all up on Wednesday.  We all worked for a couple of hours on Saturday and got the job done.”

Pictures of Chris’  project can be found on the iLivehereonline community web site.  “My mom took the pictures – which was her way of helping, I suppose,” said Chris.  “My little brother, my sister and her friend did most of the work, though.  I had to pick up the heavy stuff and make sure we didn’t leave anything behind.”

The small cleanup represents how iLivehere encourages individuals and families to take responsibility for their “little corner of the world” and make it better.

For high-resolution images from the cleanup or for an opportunity to speak with Chris about his project, please contact Mike Bawden (mike@bawdenlareaupr.com or 563-359-8654).

Volunteer diver, Ron Hoffman, surfaces in the midst of the muck and debris found at the Crow Creek Park quarry.

(Bettendorf, IA) — Volunteer divers from around Bettendorf came to the Crow Creek Park Quarry last Saturday morning (July 26) to help clean the water-filled pit of garbage and overgrown vegetation. A second group of land-based helpers picked up litter on the shoreline and from nearby trails.

The event was organized by Scott Jones, who operates Scuba Adventures QCA (www.scubaadventuresqca.com) with help from one of his instructors, Darin Oberhart, who served as the dive master.

High resolution (CMYK) files of photos from the event can be downloaded from the gallery below:

Following the cleanup, Mr. Jones fired up his grill and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for all of the adults and kids who pitched in. Prizes were awarded to those teams who managed to pull in the most garbage.

Pictures from the event can be found on the iLivehere Online web site.

The event starts at 10am on Saturday, July 26 at 10 am.

Click to read the event announcement from the City of Bettendorf

(Davenport, IA) — An upgrade to the existing Calendar of Events function on the iLivehere Online site now allows community members to register and manage event attendance through the web site.  A list of events currently registered on the site can be found on via an RSS feed.

iLivehere Online is an online social network similar to MySpace or Facebook, but focused on environmental social responsibility.  Members of the network are able to share ideas, chat, blog, post pictures or videos and offer encouragement to each other in support of their various environmental and conservation efforts.

People can become “members” of iLivehere Online for free. 

Membership to the network is not restricted to the Quad Cities.  There are currently members of iLivehere Online from California, Nevada and Edinburgh, Scotland .

A new television spot promoting iLivehere, the social responsibility campaign promoting environmental practices and conservation for the Waste Commission of Scott County debuted this week on area television stations. The spot started airing on Monday, July 7 and will run on and off for the next six to eight weeks.

“We are very pleased with how the spot turned out,” said Erin Robinson, Communication Coordinator for the Waste Commission. “It was a lot to shoot in just one day, but the creative/production team we hired did a great job getting it done and making our community look great.”

The campaign will help continue to drive awareness of the key messages behind the iLivehere initiative and encourage people to learn more by visiting the iLivehere Web site or by joining our online community.

According to Robinson, the timing for this television campaign is just about perfect – with XStream Clean-Up just around the corner. “Raising iLivehere’s profile in July and August is just what we need.”

NOTE: The spot was produced by the Waste Commission’s PR Firm, Bawden & Lareau Public Relations and their creative partner, Punch Creative Group.

# # #

For further information and answers to questions about waste disposal or recycling, or information concerning services and programs offered by the Waste Commission, please call (563) 381-1300 or visit the Commission’s Web site at www.wastecom.com.

B&LPR is a boutique consultancy specializing in public relations and brand ambassadorship. It is located in the Quad Cities (Iowa/Illinois) and serves clients throughout the United States and in Europe. For more information on B&LPR, please visit our web site: www.bawdenlareaupr.com.

“If the iLivehere campaign is designed to promote the idea of taking responsibility for your own corner of the world, the social networking site is where everyone meets to encourage you to stick with it,” explained Kathy Morris, Director of the Waste Commission of Scott County.  “We’re excited about the long-term possibilities of a program like this.”

“We know our message has an appeal to youth and we hope this social network will take advantage of their interest in similar applications like Facebook and MySpace,” Ms. Morris continued.

The social network was developed with the assistance of Bawden & Lareau Public Relations, a public relations consultancy based in Davenport, IA.

The new program replaces the Commission’s previous Keep Scott County Beautiful program which had been in place since 2001.

“We wanted our new program to be more about overall environmental stewardship and doing good for the community, rather than just being about litter and cleanups.  This new program celebrates our community and the reasons why we should protect our local environment,” said Kathy Morris, Director of the Waste Commission of Scott County.

The program uses its new Web site (www.ilivehereqc.org) as an information hub.  The site contains a message board, group and business features, news, resources, upcoming events, e-news signup and information on the new “Make IT Yours” program which allows groups and businesses to adopt an area that means something to them.  They clean, beautify and maintain it throughout the year and are recognized with “Make IT Yours” signage.

“On April 22, we want thousands of Quad Citians to log on to our Web site and tell us how they’re celebrating Earth Day or what they’re doing to make a positive impact on our environment,” Morris said.  “We’ll highlight some of our favorite entries on the Web site and those individuals will receive an organic cotton “iLivehere” t-shirt or a reusable grocery bag made of recycled pop bottles.

The program also fosters idea exchanges on environmental topics and issues and connects like-minded individuals through social networks.  By visiting the Web site, you can join the iLivehere groups on Facebook and MySpace and share your environemntal videos and photos on the iLivehere channel on YouTube and online photo album on Flickr.

“We want Quad Citians to be proud of where they live, work and play.  The ‘iLivehere’ program gives citizens a chance to tell us why they live here and what they’re doing to keep the Quad Cities clean and green,” Morris said.

For more information about the iLivehere program, visit www.ilivehereqc.org or call 563-468-4218.