{"id":24170,"date":"2026-07-14T10:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?post_type=press-release&#038;p=24170"},"modified":"2026-07-14T10:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:18:16","slug":"orange-county-receives-national-award-for-pharmaceutical-waste-outreach-program","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/07\/orange-county-receives-national-award-for-pharmaceutical-waste-outreach-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange County Receives National Award for Pharmaceutical Waste Outreach Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-23597\" src=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png 648w, https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color-228x300.png 228w, https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color-600x790.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Orange County, FL \u2013 <\/strong>Orange County Government\u2019s Environmental Protection Division has received the 2026 Best Outreach Program Award from the <a href=\"https:\/\/nahmma.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">North American Hazardous Materials Management Association<\/a> for an innovative outreach program designed to help small healthcare facilities properly manage hazardous pharmaceutical waste.<\/p>\n<p>The national award recognizes the Division for developing a user-friendly digital questionnaire that made compliance outreach more efficient, accessible and effective. The program focused on keeping hazardous pharmaceutical waste out of the environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen pharmaceutical waste is not managed properly, it can contribute to toxic pollution in our lakes, rivers and groundwater,\u201d said Aim\u00e9e Krivan, Senior Environmental Specialist with Orange County\u2019s Pollution Prevention program. \u201cHelping facilities understand their responsibilities is one way we can reduce that risk before it reaches the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, healthcare workers at small healthcare facilities are often unfamiliar with hazardous waste management requirements. Following the initial questionnaire, Orange County staff continued engaging facilities through calls, emails and in-person assistance.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County earned NAHMMA&#8217;s 2026 Best Outreach Program Award for an innovative education campaign that helps small healthcare providers safely manage hazardous pharmaceutical waste. The program combines practical compliance tools with direct outreach to improve environmental protection, reduce pollution risks, and support regulatory compliance.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about Orange County\u2019s Environmental Protection Division, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/orangecountyfl.net\/Environment.aspx\">OCFL.net\/Environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orange County, FL \u2013 Orange County Government\u2019s Environmental Protection Division has received the 2026 Best Outreach Program Award from the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association for an innovative outreach program designed to help small healthcare facilities properly manage hazardous pharmaceutical waste. The national award recognizes the Division for developing a user-friendly digital questionnaire that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-24170","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pharmaceutical Waste Outreach Program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Orange County Government\u2019s Environmental Protection Division has received the 2026 Best Outreach Program Award.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/07\/orange-county-receives-national-award-for-pharmaceutical-waste-outreach-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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