Online Resource Provides Localized Information on Safe Disposal of Used Needles and Sharps

March 20, 2018

New Information is Available to the 9 million Americans Who Use More than 3 Billion Medical Sharps, or Needles, Outside of Healthcare Facilities Each Year

Dr. Richard J. Sagall, President, NeedyMeds

(Gloucester, MA, Tuesday, March 20, 2018) – If you’re one of the millions of Americans who suffer from a chronic illness that requires the use of sharps, lancets, needles or auto injectors outside of a medical facility, you may not know how to get rid of used sharps safely.

Safe needle disposal practices may be different, depending on where you are. A national non-profit organization is making it easier for people who use sharps to the understand the rules that promote safe disposal in your community or state. SafeNeedleDisposal.org is the roadmaps patients need to do the right thing, wherever they happen to be.

Dr. Richard J. Sagall, President of NeedyMeds, explains.

SOUNDBITE #1:

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT PEOPLE WHO USE NEEDLES TO MANAGE THEIR MEDICAL CONDITIONS KNOW IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO SAFELY DISPOSE OF SHARPS, BUT LACK CLEAR INFORMATION ON WHAT TO DO IN THEIR STATE. MOST PEOPLE WHO USE SHARPS CAN DISPOSE OF THEM AT HOME BY PLACING USED SHARPS IN A STRONG, PLASTIC CONTAINER—LIKE A LAUNDRY DETERGENT OR BLEACH BOTTLE—SEALING IT WITH DUCT TAPE, LABELING IT “DO NOT RECYCLE”, AND PLACING IT IN THE TRASH.  IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER TO NEVER PLACE THE CONTAINER IN THE RECYCLING BIN.

SOUNDBITE #2:

ACCORDING TO THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, SHARPS THAT ARE NOT DISPOSED OF PROPERLY MAY CAUSE INJURY. NEEDLE DISPOSAL REGULATIONS DIFFER FROM STATE TO STATE SO IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT WHAT TO DO IN THEIR COMMUNITY. SAFE NEEDLE DISPOSAL IS A RESOURCE FOR EASY TO UNDERSTAND, LOCAL GUIDANCE. REMEMBER, SAFETY IS THE POINT.

For more information, visit SafeNeedleDisposal.org.

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