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Sharps Disposal?

What do you do with your sharps box?  When the nurse from Shared Solutions showed me how to use my Copaxone she told me that the sharps box they gave me when I had my Solumedrol was mine for life.  SHe told me to fill it, then tape it up and keep it forever in a safe place.  She also instructed me to use an orange juice jug or coffee container for the next round of used sharps because I could put those in the garbage.  This just doesn't make sense to me.  Any advice?

Thanks!

Katie

27 Responses
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1045086 tn?1332126422
Hey Bob, sometimes stuff gets recycled




to another state.
Helpful - 0
1453990 tn?1329231426
I hate to say this, but most Biohazard companies autoclave or plasma sterilize the waste.  Grind it up and it goes to the landfill.  It seems to always end up there. Nothing gets recycled.  It just gets ti the landfill by a different course.
Helpful - 0
620048 tn?1358018235
Wow, i would never think to throw needles into a landfill.   I asked when i started copaxone and got a hundred different answers.. so I now go to the pharmacy and pay $5.00 and and I get a new sharps container along with a post paid box that you save and mail you old one somewhere..

We are very into recycling in California.. its a pain in the b--t at times..

hugs, meg
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
When mine breaks, Bob, I'll ship it to you and skip buying the extended warranty! LOL
Helpful - 0
1453990 tn?1329231426
Except Bob who repaired way too many Castle and Amsco OR Autoclaves and a few Ethylene Oxide Sterilizers.  
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
Mary, only if they throw in a autoclave into the rx for my copaxone.  Most people here are probably too young to even know what an autoclave is..... LOL
Helpful - 0
1045086 tn?1332126422
The needle clip is probably a good idea if you have young children (or other curious beings) in the house that you want to protect.  Otherwise, you might as well toss the whole thing into a heavy plastic container intact.  Less chance of sticking yourself a second time that way!

You can always write "SHARPS" on the container after you tape it securely for disposal if you want to warn off someone at the dump who is looking for leftover laundry detergent.  Oh that the addicts on the streets would be so careful!

I didn't use disposabe diapers for my babies back in the day because I didn't want to add to the already enormous pile of everlasting trash.  Now the list of non-biodegradables I have to use routinely makes me glad I did that little thing way back when.  These things are going to be in our landfills for a very long time.  Anybody want to go back to reuseable needles and glass syringes?

Mary
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
SS called me today for one of their routine customer service calls.  I asked her what she suggested.  She also suggested the BD Needle Clip and said that you can just throw the thing that holds the needles in the trash when it is full.  
Helpful - 0
1453990 tn?1329231426
I guess if you use the BD Needle Clip and cut the sharp off the end of the syringe, it is no more dangerous than any other piece of glass and you can just chuck it in the trash.  That way, you would have to worry about the Needle clip about every 4 years and you could drop it off at a hospital or some place that had a sharps disposal box.
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
Houston, I love your solutions ....  :-)
Helpful - 0
1532707 tn?1312155924
I work at a vet clinic and what we used to do before we had a waste service was fill our full containers with plaster of paris or concrete before sealing them, It seemed like a good idea that way the sharps are burried in something hard already and wont get loose.
You could always use them as bricks to make a sidewalk for your house! JK. : )
Obviously the problem with this is you practically have to have a strapping young lad go get a bag of concrete and take care of the whole process.

We also will help our clients dispose of their used sharps. So you might ask one or all of you doctors. I'm not sure if we pay by weight or one flat fee for our service now but the service we have is called Stericycle.
Maybe you should get a diabetic dog or adopt a cat in kidney failure (unfortunately this might be only a temporary solution) and you can sneak your sharps in with theirs and take it to your local private practice veterinarian.
Helpful - 0
1260255 tn?1288654564
Katie:

What a nice name!

Another way to find out how to dispose of your sharps container is to ask your pharmacy. I was unable to find out what to do here in CT and I thought that the pharmacy would take them, given that they were the ones that gave me the needles.

I was told to drop mine off at a local fire department.

Now if I can only find out what to do with expired prescriptions!

Good luck and I hope what COBOB said about VA is not true; the thought of biohazardous material just going to the dump is a scary thought.

Smile when you feel like smiling, laugh when you feel like laughing and however else you feel, be true to your emotions.

Hugs,

Audrey
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
Sorry I don't know anything about the safety clip, but I do know about the travel.  Our embarkation procedures for our Alaska cruise this summer gave me a chance to let them know I had syringes.  The cruiseline provided me with a small sharps container, labeled with my name and cabin number.  They took the container for disposal when the cruise was over.

Resorts where you are staying for a number of days will also sometimes have sharps containers available.  My favorite improvised container is an empty water bottle.  I can take the cap off, put the syringe in and then recap the bottle.  

I would feel horrible if someone who works in the service industry would get jabbed wtih  one of my needles,.

be well,
Lulu
Helpful - 0
1453990 tn?1329231426
Like I said, I have the B&D Safe Clip and I use it for travel.  I works great.

Bob
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I agree with you!  It just seems kind of gross to be filling up old orange juice containers with needles and dumping them in the trash.  I told my husband that I was going to call our trash company to see what they thought, but he told me not too.  I think he is afraid that if I ask, they will say "no."  I think I will let SS know what the nurse told me.  She works for Neurological Associates here in Richmond because that is where I went to learn how to do the injections.  I guess SS contracts?
What do you guys think of the B&D Safe Clip device?  It looks easy enough and then there won't be a problem.  The product description said that it holds 1,500 needles - that would last me over 4 years!  Maybe by then I won't need Copaxone anymore because they will have cured MS - hahahaha!
Helpful - 0
559187 tn?1330782856
Thanks for the info on disposing needles in VA. I also live in VA and feel quilty every time I fill up my old laundry detergent bottles and toss it in the trash. Well, I guess it is OK afterall.

I still feel bad and doing it and will try to look into another solution such as giving them to the FD instead as Lu mentioned. I did take them to my old  PCPs office once and they said they'd take them that time but not to bring them again.  That was embarrassing.  

Julie
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1207048 tn?1282174304
The pharmacy (online) that delivers my Copaxone will ask me every 2 months if I need a sharps container. It seems that one container is lasting a bit longer than 3 months. If I need a new one the pharmacy just adds it in with my regular Copaxone delivery.

I have only filled 1 sharps container so far. I was told that one of my local hospitals has a pharmacy in the lobby area and they will accept full sharps containers. My plan is to put filled ones in the back of my linen closet until I have 5 or 6 and take them all in at once.
~Jess
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
Katie, The disposal question can be difficult to decipher - but it certainly is easier to understand than what the SS nurse told you.  That is absolutely  nonsense that she told you it was yours for life.  I can't imagine why she would even suggest that and you might want to call SS and let them know you were told this "solution" so it is not repeated again and again to others.

An orange juice carton is a horrible way to dispose of sharps, especially with having young children in your home.  I still can't believe some of the bad advice these "experts" pass out to patients.

As for the disposal - Ohio is also one of those uncontrolled persona waste states.  I called my trash hauler and asked for their suggestion - they said to just place it in my garbage along with everything else.  

I have been doing just that for the past two years but was recently given a ride to the hospital by some nice guys in an ambulance.  On the way I asked about sharps disposal and they said they take them from individuals, with no charge.  I dropped my first full container to them just this week.  

The BD sharps containers  (red ones) are a one way system -  it is designed that what goes in, should not come back out, no matter how you try to shake and jiggle the container.  When the unit is ready for disposal the lid snaps firmly in place and is virtually impossible to reopen, unless you use some tools to pry it.  

The BD container has a serial number listed on it - this is a prescription item if it comes from your drug supply house and is traceable to you.  At least mine are that way.

When you call/or get called about your prescription refill, they should ask if you need additional supplies - that includes the sharps container.  I get a new one about every three months - they can hold quite a few sharps.  

I hope something in all this is of use to you. ...
Lulu
Helpful - 0
738075 tn?1330575844
Here in California, we can bring the sharps boxes to our local hospitals (the ones I work, anyway), or our local police stations.  We can NOT dispose of them in the landfill!
Helpful - 0
1453990 tn?1329231426
Walmart.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
One more question.  I just looked up the BD Needle Clip that you mentioned and it sounds like what I need (3 small children).  Where did you get yours?  

Thanks!

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Just saw something online called the "Sharps Terminator."  It looks pretty cool (and pretty expensive).
Glad that your interpretation of VA law was the same as mine.  I wonder why the nurse told me I couldn't throw it away?  Maybe I'll call our disposal company just to check.  I would hate to spend Christmas in jail for tossing a sharps box illegally. Hee, hee!

Thanks for your help!
Helpful - 0
1453990 tn?1329231426
Yep.  VA is a toss your sharps container in the trash state.  I have the B&D needle clipper that I use when I travel.  Then there is no "sharp" so I throw the syringe in the regular trash, unless the hotel has a sharps box in the bathroom.

Bob
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
O-kay ... I followed your advice and Googled and this is what I got for VA:

{Place sharps in a rigid, strong plastic or metal container with a screw-on or tightly secured cap, such as a laundry detergent bottle. Or, use a purchased Sharps Container. Reinforce the cap with heavy duty tape. Mark clearly and noticeably on the outside of the container “Do Not Recycle” and “Household Sharps”.

Container must be opaque (not clear).
Dispose of container with regular trash.}

Wouldn't a "purchased sharps container" be just like the red box that is sitting in my bathroom?  It sounds to me like I can throw it away with the garbage, so long as it is secured and labeled appropriately.

Do you agree?  The nurse also mentioned some kind of device that snaps the needle part off and stores it in a chamber then you just throw the empty syringe part away.  You throw the needle chamber thing away when it is full.  She didn't know the name of this product, but it sounds pretty easy to me.

katie
Helpful - 0
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