February 22, 2025

Learn Safe Disposal of Your Sharps and Medications

Place Used Sharps in Sealed Containers and Take Unneeded Meds to Drop Off Locations

It's important to safely dispose of sharps and medications at an authorized collection center or drop-off location. You can't throw sharps (like needles and syringes) in the trash or recycling, and you should follow proper guidelines for discarding medications.

To properly dispose of sharps and medications:

Sharps

• Put sharps in a sealed, FDA-approved sharps container

• You can buy these containers at most drugstores

• Place sharps in a puncture-resistant container with a tight-fitting lid

• Find a collection center near you and drop the container there



• Don't flush sharps down the toilet

Medications

Never flush medications down the drain. Instead, take unwanted or expired medications to drug take-back locations such as pharmacies, police departments, or government approved locations like:

• Walgreens Marina - free drop off at safe disposal kiosk

• CVS Marina at 268 Reservation Rd

• Behavioral Health Marina Clinic at 299 12th Street

• ReGen at 14201 Del Monte Boulevard, Salinas

• Marina Police Department at 211 Hillcrest Avenue, Marina

System Operator Alec Irwin Honored for 5 Years Service

Enthusiasm and Expertise Helpful to Others

With a positive attitude and calm demeanor, Marina Coast Water District System Operator Alec Irwin is always willing to help his coworkers, spreading positivity to those around him. With great pleasure, we recognize Alec for five years of service to the District. 

Working in both the Engineering and Operations and Maintenance departments, Alec has shown excellent technical skills by upgrading and implementing the Closed Circuit Television program for sewer gravity mainline inspections. This was a particularly difficult project, and Alec's expertise in computer systems helped move the process along smoothly. He has since trained other operators on the new hardware and software. 

Alec was also a significant contributor to the Quality Assurance and Quality Control work on the District's Lead Service Line inventory. This was a massive endeavor and his keen eye and attention to detail helped process over 13,000 rows of Microsoft Excel information needed to submit to the State Water Resources Control Board. 

In addition to his regular operator duties, Alec ensures that all sewer lift station floats are working properly. These floats serve as a backup to other control mechanisms, and should they fail, a potential large sewer spill could occur.

Being a System Operator requires State certification and Alec has gone above and beyond to gain further education within the field of water and wastewater. Currently, he holds the following certifications:

• State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Water Distribution Operator Grade II

• SWRCB Water Treatment Operator Grade II

• California Water Environmental Association (CWEA) Collection System Maintenance Grade II

• Pipeline and Manhole assessment certification from the National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO)

We thank Alec for five years of outstanding service and wish him continued success with the District.

Marina Coast Water District

11 Reservation Road, Marina CA 93933

(831) 384-6131 | mcwd.org