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Medical Sharps Home

It is estimated that over 3 billion disposable needles and syringes and an additional 900 million lancets (collectively called “medical sharps”) enter the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream each year in the United States from two main sources: those managing their own health care at home by self-injecting medication (representing two-thirds of the needles used) and intravenous drug users. People living with diabetes generate a majority of these sharps, while the remainder is used by people treating themselves for a wide variety of other medical conditions as well as injection drug users. As self injection of medications becomes an increasingly popular mechanism for drug delivery, the number of home medical sharps is expected to increase significantly. Self-injectors routinely discard medical sharps in MSW generated in homes and in public settings, recycling bins (in plastic containers), and down toilets.

These disposal methods create the potential for injury or the transmission of infectious diseases to homeowners, as well as sanitation workers, sewage treatment plant operators, and waste management personnel at transfer stations, recycling plants, and disposal facilities. They are also a hazard for hospitality workers at restaurants, hotels, airports, and other locations. In addition, since people dispose of needles almost everywhere, sharps can pose a basic hazard to the general public. They also create costly maintenance problems when loose sharps become jammed in equipment, causing damage to the machines as well as the people that try to dislodge them. PSI is in the process of developing solutions to the medical sharps issue through a multi-stakeholder dialogue. Participants will explore ways to educate those using sharps about the problem, provide convenient access to a safe collection system, change behavior to increase compliance, and develop a cost-effective system that is financially sustainable.