Home Needle-Disposal Program to Start Next Month

Lynn Schenkman

Houston –- Waste Management and Sharps Compliance Corp., both of Houston, and Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD), Franklin Lakes, N.J., will offer private residents who administer their own medical injections a safe way to dispose of those discarded medical instruments, namely needles, that pose a health threat to children and waste workers. While most hospitals have medical waste disposal programs in place, few efforts extend to safe, at-home medical supply disposal. Under the Sharps Disposal by Mail System, needles used in the home may be placed in a puncture-resistant container and mailed to a Sharps' destruction facility. The service will be offered to Waste Management’s 25 million residential and 2 million commercial customers in the United States. BD will market the disposal system nationally in more than 55,000 pharmacies.